Escola de Mundanas

"L'Ecole Des Cocottes" is ,in several respect ,the follow-up or the second part of "Gigi" (1948) in Jacqueline Audry's filmography.Although there is a first filmed version of this play by Pierre Colombier (1935) generally considered superior to this one,the plot was tailor-made for Audry the only female director of those years ,just before the coming of Agnes Varda ,for all her movies dealt with one single subject:woman or women.

This "school for Coquettes" is certainly pleasant enough;Dany Robin shows freshness in a part which is finally that of a whore "De Luxe".But ,like in every version of the play,it's Mademoiselle Amelie which wins over the audience.Odette Laure is perfect in the part of this bubble girl too clumsy,too dumb and too crude to climb the social ladder,so to speak.Unfortunately her best moment (at the concert) is shortened .Cast includes Jean Claude Brialy and Bernard Blier.Some scenes recall Shaw's "Pygmalion" when the future courtesans learn good manners.