Act of Love (1953 film)
Encyclopedia
Act of Love is a 1953 romantic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak
, starring Kirk Douglas
and Dany Robin
. It is based on the novel The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes
. A Parisian falls in love with an American soldier near the end of World War II
.
Years earlier, to get away from the barracks and the other soldiers, Robert rents a room in a hotel-restaurant. Lise, an orphan without money or identity papers, seeks a way to escape from the authorities. She asks Robert to pass her off as his wife. Even though he does not inspire trust, she starts to fall in love. Lise tells of the time she was the most happy and secure -- living in a little seaside village.
When a black market dragnet lands Lise in jail, she is humiliated because now she (like Jean Valjean
) is branded a "criminal for life." By this time, Robert loves her deeply and is willing to marry her.
In order to do so, Robert must obtain the approval of his commanding officer, who refuses because the captain thinks he knows what is best for his men. Robert is transferred away from Paris immediately. He escapes, but is arrested. Lise now feels even more abandoned because Robert does not show up for their wedding.
His thoughts returning to the present, Robert runs into his old captain (who had been trying to place Robert's face). He hears the captain tell his wife what a troublemaker Robert was back then and how he "rescued" Robert from the clutches of a French girl. The captain says, "Well, I bet you haven't seen her since the war." Robert replies, "You are right. They pulled her body out of the river shortly after I was transferred."
Anatole Litvak
Anatole Litvak was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages...
, starring Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
and Dany Robin
Dany Robin
Dany Robin was a French actress of the 1950s and the early 1960s who was married to fellow actor Georges Marchal.She performed with Peter Sellers in The Waltz of the Toreadors and co-starred opposite Kirk Douglas in the 1953 romantic drama Act of Love.Robin co-starred with Connie Francis, Paula...
. It is based on the novel The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes
Alfred Hayes (writer)
Alfred Hayes was a British screenwriter, television writer, novelist, and poet, who worked in Italy and the United States...
. A Parisian falls in love with an American soldier near the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Plot
Robert Teller visits a seaport in the south of France in the early 1950s. He reflects back to his time in the army shortly after Paris has been liberated.Years earlier, to get away from the barracks and the other soldiers, Robert rents a room in a hotel-restaurant. Lise, an orphan without money or identity papers, seeks a way to escape from the authorities. She asks Robert to pass her off as his wife. Even though he does not inspire trust, she starts to fall in love. Lise tells of the time she was the most happy and secure -- living in a little seaside village.
When a black market dragnet lands Lise in jail, she is humiliated because now she (like Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables...
) is branded a "criminal for life." By this time, Robert loves her deeply and is willing to marry her.
In order to do so, Robert must obtain the approval of his commanding officer, who refuses because the captain thinks he knows what is best for his men. Robert is transferred away from Paris immediately. He escapes, but is arrested. Lise now feels even more abandoned because Robert does not show up for their wedding.
His thoughts returning to the present, Robert runs into his old captain (who had been trying to place Robert's face). He hears the captain tell his wife what a troublemaker Robert was back then and how he "rescued" Robert from the clutches of a French girl. The captain says, "Well, I bet you haven't seen her since the war." Robert replies, "You are right. They pulled her body out of the river shortly after I was transferred."
Cast
- Kirk DouglasKirk DouglasKirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
as Robert Teller - Dany RobinDany RobinDany Robin was a French actress of the 1950s and the early 1960s who was married to fellow actor Georges Marchal.She performed with Peter Sellers in The Waltz of the Toreadors and co-starred opposite Kirk Douglas in the 1953 romantic drama Act of Love.Robin co-starred with Connie Francis, Paula...
as Lise Gudayec / Madame Teller - Gabrielle DorziatGabrielle DorziatGabrielle Dorziat was a French stage and film actress. Dorziat was a fashion trend setter in Paris and helped popularize the designs of Coco Chanel. The Théâtre Gabrielle-Dorziat, a theater in Épernay, France is named for her.-Biography:...
as Adèle Lacaud - Barbara Laage as Nina
- Fernand LedouxFernand LedouxFernand Ledoux was a French film and theatre actor of Belgian origin. He studied with Raphaël Duflos at the CNSAD, and began his career with small roles at the Comédie-Française...
as Fernand Lacaud - Robert StraussRobert Strauss (actor)Robert Strauss was a gravel-voiced American actor.-Career:Strauss began his career as a classical actor, appearing in The Tempest and Macbeth on Broadway in 1930...
as S/Sgt. Johnny Blackwood - Marthe MercadierMarthe MercadierMarthe Mercadier is an actress born on October 23, 1928.She was named Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 2007.In 2011 she will be participating in Danse avec les stars .-Reference:*...
as La fille de la terrasse / Young woman - George MathewsGeorge Mathews (actor)George Mathews was an American actor whose career stretched from an uncredited appearance in Stage Door Canteen in 1943 to Going Home in 1971. Burly, heavy-featured, and tall he had an extensive career on stage which began in the early 1930's, when he failed to get a job with the U.S. Mail. He...
as Henderson - Richard BenedictRichard BenedictRichard "Pepe" Benedict was an Italian-born television and film actor and director.He appeared in dozens of television programs and movies from the 1940s to the 1960s, most notably Ace in the Hole , directed by Billy Wilder...
as Pete - Leslie DwyerLeslie DwyerLeslie Dwyer was an English character actor of film and television. He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his first film in 1921...
as Le sergent anglais / English sergeant - Sydney ChaplinSydney ChaplinSydney Chaplin was an English actor. He was the elder half-brother of Sir Charlie Chaplin and served as his business manager, and the half-uncle of the actor Sydney Chaplin , who was named after him.-Early life:...
as Un soldat / Soldier - Brigitte BardotBrigitte BardotBrigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
as Mimi - Nedd Willard
- Serge ReggianiSerge ReggianiSerge Reggiani was an Italian-born French singer and actor. He was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy and moved to France with his parents at the age of eight...
as Claude Lacaud