Madame du Barry

La Du Barry was -like Madame de Pompadour- actually a bourgeoise whose real name was Jeanne Bécu.

Christian-Jacques's movie,one of the first French color movies -they were not numerous at the time- is pretty entertaining.Henri Jeanson's dialog -he was certainly the best screen writer France had ever had-is risqué,and not afraid of calling a spade a spade when it comes to sex .In 1954,the Catholic Office of cinema urged the faithful not to watch that flick.Martine Carol ,who was THE French star before Brigitte Bardot's coming ,was perfectly cast as aging Louis the 15 th's lover.

What's less funny is Madame Du Barry's end (not in the film):sentenced to death by the revolutionary tribunal in 1793 (she should have stayed in England where she was then),she tried to save her head by giving all her jewels to the Republic:during several hours,she revealed all the hiding places in her château.To no avail.She had to be dragged to the guillotine , she was screaming with terror.Her famous last words were "One minute more ,Mister executioner!".

The movie ends with Madame du Barry's disgrace,when her royal lover died.She was then imprisoned in an abbey for one year,for Marie-Antoinette hated her.