The Bed

Four tales ,all dealing with "the secrets of the bed" but actually only the final one deals with what the audience is expecting,sex. Three diplomats and their chauffeur who have to stop in the country for the night begin to tell stories about beds.

Segment one :"billet" WW2.An English officer (Richard Todd)is sent to a house in France .A woman (Jeanne Moreau) is expecting him and she's expecting a baby too (in one week);it 's easy to guess which comes next but the two actors are really endearing .Richard Todd is wonderful as the "midwife" .Made by Henry Decoin,this is much closer to his gentle comedies ("Premier Rendez-vous") than to his numerous films noirs.

Segment two: "divorce" A man (Vittorio De Sica ) spends a night in a hotel with a woman (Dawn Addams) he's never seen before just to get a recording of adultery;it's very talky and a little boring in spite of the talent of the actors.Directed by Gianni Franciolini.

Segment three :"rude awakening" the only one with a working -class person ,the chauffeur !A driver meets a girl who's got a flat tire on the road;as a good macho,he tells the lady she won't be able to manage by herself and obviously he is right.During the night the girl (sexy Françoise Arnoul) gets into his trailer.Is it the beginning of a great love story? She invites him to her desirable mansion .He is on cloud nine,but the harder they come... Mouloudji sings his lovely ballad "Un Jour Tu Verras" which tells a love story in the future tense which makes it even more magical . Directed by Ralph Habib.

Segment four: "La Pompadour's bed" :one can only dream of what Sacha Guitry would have done with such a subject!Jean Delannoy was not up to scratch ,as far as comedies are concerned ,and the story of a courtesan (hot Martine Carol) who gains and loses the famous bed (a good luck charm she says)according to the fluctuation in politics is repetitive ,in spite of the presence of Bernard Blier and François Périer.

In the end ,two charming mini-tales and filler.