Bonjour Tristesse movie storyline. Parisians Raymond, a widowed man, and his seventeen year old daughter Cecile, who calls her father by his given name, live a life of privilege, decadence and frivolity. Their play is with each other, with whomever else they fancy and who want to be part of that decadent lifestyle. They are currently on vacation on the French Riviera with Raymond’s latest conquest, Elsa, who is as much a casual lover for Raymond as she is a playmate for Cecile’s partying ways.
Their life changes when they receive a visit from Anne, Cecile’s mother’s best friend. Raymond falls in love with Anne and they decide to get married. Cecile is initially happy for Raymond, as she sees Anne as being a stabilizing force in his life. But Cecile comes to the realization that that stabilizing force also applies to her and will change the decadent life to which she’s become accustomed. With the help of Elsa and Philippe, Cecile’s latest beau of whom Anne does not approve, Cecile does whatever she needs to to protect her way of life. Cecile does not foresee how this plan will ultimately affect her life.
Bonjour Tristesse (French “Hello, Sadness”) is a 1958 British-American Technicolor film in CinemaScope, directed and produced by Otto Preminger from a screenplay by Arthur Laurents based on the novel of the same name by Françoise Sagan. The film stars Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Jean Seberg, Mylène Demongeot and Geoffrey Horne, and features Juliette Gréco, Walter Chiari, Martita Hunt and Roland Culver. It was released by Columbia Pictures. This film had color and black-and-white sequences, a technique unusual for the 1950s, but widely used in silent movies and early sound movies.
Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
Directed by: Otto Preminger
Starring: Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Jean Seberg, Mylène Demongeot, Geoffrey Horne, Juliette Gréco, Walter Chiari, Martita Hunt, Roland Culver, Jean Kent, David Oxley, Elga Andersen, Jeremy Burnham
Screenplay by: Arthur Laurents
Production Design by: Roger K. Furse
Cinematography by: Georges Périnal
Film Editing by: Helga Cranston
Art Direction by: Ray Simm
Makeup Department: Gordon Bond, George Frost, Janou Pottier
Music by: Georges Auric
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: January 15, 1958 (New York City)
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