Pierre , a young lawyer, has enormous debts due to his mistress Florence and her whims of luxury life. Pierre has gone too far and put the family firm in jeopardy. They ask him to expatriate. To avoid scandal, Pierre joins the Foreign Legion. In Morocco, near the desert, Pierre goes with his comrades of the Legion to a bar-restaurant-brothel, owned by a shady character, Mr. Clement . Clement lives more or less with Ms.Blanche who is a fortune teller with cards, as a hobby. But Clement is also after his girls now and then. Pierre is still obsessed with Florence but he meets Irma , one of Clement's girls, who is the double of Florence except for hair color. Irma has had an accident and has lost part of her memory at a certain point of her recent past, and Pierre slowly persuades himself she is Florence, but cannot remember it. Advised by Ms.Blanche, Irma finally accepts to act as if she was Florence because she is falling in love with Pierre.
Acting
Marie Bell plays two women — one you hate, one you pity.
Direction
Feyder turns a brothel into a hall of mirrors.
Costume
The hair color difference: that's the whole plot, baby.
Director
Jacques Feyder
Marie Bell
Florence / Irma
Pierre Richard-Willm
Pierre Martel / Pierre Muller
Charles Vanel
Clement
Camille Bert
Le colonel
André Dubosc
Bernard Martel
Pierre Larquey
Gustin
Lyne Clevers
La môme Dauville
Harry Nestor
Aziani
Pierre de Guingand
Le capitaine
Louis Florencie
Fenoux
Pierre Labry
Le cantinier
Françoise Rosay
Blanche
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Feyder was a master of 'poetic realism' — this film bridges silent-era visual storytelling with the psychological depth that would define 1930s French cinema.
Marie Bell played both roles with such precision that contemporary audiences reportedly wrote to studios asking if she had an actual twin sister.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
FR
