FILM SCREENINGS

Holiday for Henrietta

1952. France. Directed by Julien Duvivier. Screenplay by Julien Duvivier, Henri Jeanson. With Dany Robin, Michel Auclair. In this enchanting classic—beloved by filmmakers like Agnès Varda, Elaine May, and Woody Allen and remade in Hollywood as Paris When It Sizzles (1964)—Duvivier and longtime writing partner Henri Jeanson send up the timeless clash between comedy and drama while also parodying their own screenwriting habits, particularly in Under Paris Skies. Two scriptwriters argue about the fate of Henrietta, a charming and gamine shopgirl. One favors a comical path for their heroine, who is overcome with sentimental love for a young photographer on Bastille Day. The other has a more thrilling and dastardly fate in mind for her. Among the film's irresistible conceits is Hildegarde Neff as an oversexed circus bareback rider. In French; English subtitles. 118 min.