Jacques Forestier, also a choreographer, an art decorator and a stage producer, is the very competent manager of "Tabarin", a renowned Parisian music-hall. A hard worker, he always wants the best for the public, at the expense of his health. He is assisted in his task by his wife Rosine and his lively secretary Mimi. Chance has it that one of the dancers he auditions for a new show is Florence, his former lover. He doesn't want her in the show but the spiteful belle has a rich influential protector who imposes her anyway. Some time later, Jacques falls victim of a heart attack.
Production
Lavish music-hall numbers that swallow the melodrama whole.
Acting
Michel Piccoli making cardiac arrest look devastatingly elegant.
Director
Richard Pottier
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sylvia Lopez, who plays the vengeful Florence, died tragically young at 26—just a year after this film's release, giving her scenes an unintended ghostliness.
The real Tabarin was a legendary Montmartre cabaret; this fictionalized version captures the last gasp of 1950s French music-hall culture before television killed the variety star.
FR
