Il lago delle vergini

Jean-Pierre Aumont has women troubles. He's a poor engineer who has taken a job as a swimming instructor at a mountain resort. Rosine Deréan and he are in love, but her father is Michel Simon in a foul mood. Simone Simon, playing a decade younger than her 24 years (and doing so very convincingly) is in love with him, and her father, Vladimir Sokoloff doesn't approve. Former lover and confidence trickster Illa Meery shows up and seeks topless refuge with him. Finally, Maroulka, a waitress at a local gasthaus loves him too, but her boss is tired of giving him free meals. And they're all jealous of each other.

It's well directed by Marc Allegret from a novel by Vicki Baum, with additional dialogue by Collette, so everything is in place for a rousing commercial success. There are some beautiful compositions on the lake, but it feels like all of the subtext of the novel has been lost and replaced by competent execution of the plot by the beautiful people involved. It's full of fine scenes that don't seem to add much to the narrative except for the sense that it's a pity that these beautiful people are so darned stupid they can't do anything right. It remains highly watchable throughout, but it's far shallower than the lake it's set on.