Review of Donnez-moi ma chance

Before being a french director dealing with social problems, Leonide Moguy was a famous russian editor. In France, he became a script advisor and a talent scout (from Michèle Morgan to Michèle Mercier, even Ava Gardner in Usa). His talent scouting was related in cinema newspaper since the 30's and many beautiful young girls dreamed to be the new Danièle Darrieux or Brigitte Bardot, waiting down his flat in Paris. And "Donnez-moi ma chance" is the true story of one of these girls, running away from home and grabbing suspicious opportunities from vicious sexual predators. The editing skills of Leonide Moguy are effective in the scenes with these predators. Moguy appears as the fine director Guymo who has a sane professional eye on the young starlet. And lot of fine other young starlets, we can trust in Moguy's talent : the lovely smiling Danik Pattisson, Nadine Tallier, Françoise Brion, Marie-José Nat, Corinne Marchand and many more. And of course a very young and fresh Michèle Mercier in her second movie as the young starlet.

Leonide Moguy was a sincere director, sensitive with social problems : young prostitution, bachelor mothers, sexual education, reform schools... predating André Cayatte. Eric-Antoine Lebon wrote "un citoyen du monde au pays du cinéma" ("a world citizen in the country of cinema"), a book very well documented about Leonide Moguy, with help from Leonide's daughter Katia who provided him very fine pictures and more.

In "Django Unchained", Dennis Christopher plays the character Leonide Moguy, di Caprio's lawyer. Tarantino discovered and admired "Je t'attendrai", the best movie by Moguy.