Irma La Douce (1963)

In 1963, Billy Wilder's Irma La Douce was one of the biggest box-office hits of the year, grossing twice as much as The Great Escape and The Birds. Yet this popular movie has been almost completely forgotten by film history, even to fans of Wilder or stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine (the same trio had made a masterpiece, The Apartment, three years earlier). It doesn't represent the best work of those legends, but Irma provides tart entertainment. At least some of the movie's popularity can be chalked up to its subject, which was pretty risqué for the time: Lemmon plays a Paris policeman who falls in love with a prostitute (MacLaine). The script was adapted from a stage musical, but Wilder decided to cut the songs, instead developing the humor and romance into his own blend of bittersweet perversity; this Technicolor-fantasy Paris is kind of a dark cousin to Gigi. Lemmon is in his prime period of hand-wringing self-doubt, and MacLaine is perfectly in tune with his rhythms, especially in scenes that add tenderness to the sometimes queasy mix of moods. Ironically--given the nixing of the songs--the film won its only Oscar for André Previn's adaptation of the stage play's music into a wordless orchestral score. --Robert Horton Amazon.com

I've fallen head over heals for Irma...

Yet another Billy Wilder smash hit, `Irma La Douce' pits the wonderfully charming Shirley MacLaine against the hilariously witty Jack Lemmon in a comedy that is every bit as smart as it is unforgettable. This is one of those comedies that sneaks up on you, getting better and better as the film progresses onward to its end, and then the ending is one that takes you for a loop and makes you reevaluate your whole understanding of the film.

It's just wonderfully constructed from beginning to end.

The film tells the story of Nestor Patou, a policeman in Paris who happens to take the law seriously. Unluckily for Nestor, he's the only law-abiding citizen in his district, and when his clean and polished ways rub the police chief the wrong way he finds himself without a job. After a chance encounter with a young street walker named Irma and her pimp leaves him the talk of the town though, Nestor finds that the law may not be his friend, but his new life seems to fit him just perfect. That is until his emotional attachment to Irma gets in the way of her line of work, and soon he finds himself battling with her every step of the way.

`Irma La Douce' is a genuine comedy that is sweet and engaging despite its questionable subject matter. This is never played in a perverse way but used as light fun for the audience. As we watch Nestor try his hardest to keep Irma from `working' we fall in love with his efforts, for his care for her is genuine and sincere. As we watch their relationship totter because of his loving deceit we feel for them both because we want them to stay together.

The acting is superb here, especially on the parts of the two leads. Lemmon and MacLaine have proven they are outstanding together (just watch them melt together in Wilder's equally marvelous `The Apartment') and here they take that chemistry to new heights, finding a beautiful balance between adoration and commitment. This is seen in the wonderful scenes with Irma and Lord X (Nestor's alter ego). There is such warmth present in those scenes as we witness Irma and Nestor growing closer by means of a medium.

This is not Wilder's best work, but it is yet another slam dunk in my opinion. It's witty and fresh (thank god they cut the stage musicals singing routines) and it is entertaining to the very end. It will leave you guessing and keep you hooked, and in the end will have you wanting to take the ride all over again. September 16, 2008

Green Stocking Diaries

One character in "Irma La Douce" describes the love between Jack Lemmon's sad sack and Shirley MacLaine's heart-of-gold streetwalker as "cute". Herein lies my problem with the film. I liked it, though it was a little overlong, but I was expecting something a little edgier from director Billy Wilder and his co-scenarist I.A.L. Diamond. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they were adapting someone else's work instead of creating something original. Lemmon and MacLaine still have that distinct chemistry but it's not as apparent as it was in Wilder's masterwork, "The Apartment". One pronounced credit to the film is the hilarious turn by Lou Jacobi as Moustache, Lemmon's mentor and dispenser of advise. Not a bad film but I would behoove you to check out Jules Dassin's "Never on Sunday" with Melina Mercouri which covers similar territory as "Irma La Douce" but with infinitely better results. June 6, 2008

Here's looking at you, Irma...

Is there any denying how beautiful Shirley MacLaine was in this film?

I just finished watching Irma La Douce with my wife, over dinner. It's a delightful comedy, also starring Jack Lemmon as a clean police officer, who raids a den of prostitution, is fired for his trouble, and then falls in love with one of the prostitutes. Jealous of all her clients, he concocts a scheme to dress up as an English Lord ("Lord X"), so as to monopolize all her time. His best-laid plan of course goes astray, but love wins out in the end.

I first watched this movie when about 9 or 10 years old, and had a crush on Shirley MacLaine as a result. She is just...luscious. The full implications of the prostitution were of course lost on me at the time.

This film is definitely worth a watch...a great old-fashioned comedy. April 13, 2008

Too long, but full of charm

In an attempt to recapture the magic of The Apartment, director Billy Wilder reassembled the stars of that film, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, in an adaptation of a popular musical -- and promptly removed the music. The result was Irma La Douce, a film that has been mostly forgotten my modern movie lovers even though it was a huge box-office success in 1963 (earning more than The Great Escape and The Birds combined!).

Part of the reason for the obscurity of Irma La Douce may be its highly contrived and mostly unbelievable plot. Jack Lemmon plays Nestor Patou, a Parisian policeman who falls in love with streetwalker Irma La Douce ("Irma the sweet") after arresting her (and losing his job in the process). Taken by him as well, Irma (MacLaine) takes Nestor on as her live-in "fellow" (read: pimp).

But Nestor is an insecure, jealous man, and he instantly schemes to replace her customers with a single one of his own -- one rich enough that she won't have to see any others. So he dresses up as "Lord X" a British millionaire and spends his nights working several jobs to produce the cash for the role. Then Irma's ex-fellow almost sees Nestor changing from his costume, but thinks he's witnessed a murder....

The real appeal of Irma La Douce is in how Lemmon and MacLaine genuinely seem to like each other. One could easily imagine a relationship blossoming between them, and that is the key to believing in these characters.

Wilder himself has called the film a "failure" (see Conversations with Wilder by Cameron Crowe), mostly due to the fact that his actors, though playing native Parisians, speak with their own accents. But their fans will not care because, though it does not come close to the quality of its predecessor, Irma La Douce is one of Wilder's most purely engaging films, even during the slow spots. Jack Lemmon has a lot of fun with his dual role, and Shirley MacLaine has never been sexier!

(Keep an eye out for a walk-on by the young James Caan, in his film debut as a soldier.) April 12, 2008

JUST A CLASSIC

SINCE I WAS A CHILD, WHEN WATCHED THIS FILM IN TV, I DREAMT OF BUYING A COPY IN THE FUTURE.
FINALLY GOT IT AND IS REALLY A TREASURE LIKE THE BEST OF THE BOOKS, THAT YOU CAN SEE MANY TIMES WITHOUT GETTING BORED.

ESCELLENT MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! April 11, 2008

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