Day 76: And God Created Woman (1956)

With “And God Created Woman,” director Roger Vadim created a star. Sassy, tan and with a twinkle in her eye, Brigitte Bardot lit up the screen and the hearts of every man with a role that jettisoned her to stardom and made her the world’s first “sex kitten.”

In the film, the vivacious Bardot plays Juliette, an eighteen-year old orphan whose sexually free spirit makes her the constant topic of her town, Saint Tropez, and the target of three specific men’s attractions. The first suitor she finds knocking at her door is Eric Carradine (Curd Jürgens), an older wealthy businessman, who has plans to create a hotel and casino in the coast side town, but has had its construction blocked by, Antoine Tardieu, the eldest son in a family boat building business, who not only refuses to sell Carradine his land, but is the soul desire of Juliette.

But, when Antoine rejects Juliette’s advances for a relationship, the little female firecracker acts out to the point where her guardians decide to send her back to the orphanage, forcing Eric to find a way to keep her in Saint Tropez by any means possible. The answer soon comes in the form of Antoine’s naive younger brother Michel (Jean-Louis Trintignant), who Juliette agrees to marry to both keep her in town and get back at Antoine. But, when the wedding bells finally ring, the heat of desire rises and all three men find themselves at the will of the beautiful and manipulative Juliette.

With “And God Created Woman,” Brigitte Bardot became the dream girl to a whole male generation, but, while the on screen shenanigans was something to be seen, the behind the scene antics that helped created the film and make its legacy were even spicier. Six years before the film was made, Bardot, then at the young age of fifteen, posed for the cover of the French magazine “Elle” and caught the eye of director Roger Vadim. Soon the two were lovers (Fifteen!) and when she turned eighteen they were married.“She was my wife, my daughter, and my mistress,” Vadim later wrote. For several years Bardot acted in films, performing in several light comedies, and her husband wasn’t pleased with the direction her career had taken. Putting it into his own hands, Vadim hired Bardot for “And God Created Woman,” a film that, he hoped would help launch her career.

Obviously, this became an understatement. When Bardot’s career shot of like a rocket she became the desire of every male on the planet and a few even had their dreams fulfilled, including her “And God Created Woman” co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant who she had a two year affair with. Obviously, Vadim did not enjoy sharing his wife and the two divorced a year later.

In a day and age where Hollywood pops out a new sex symbol every other year for the public to use and abuse, it’s hard to remember a time when there was such a thing as a true Hollywood starlet like Brigitte Bardot and films like “And God Created Woman” that actually showed them as good actresses as well as eye candy. In the end, I think Bob Dylan had it right when he wrote – “Well, my telephone rang it would not stop. It’s President Kennedy callin’ me up. He said, “My friend, Bob, what do we need to make the country grow?”
I said, “My friend, John, “Brigitte Bardot.”

To learn more about “And God Created Woman,” check out Criterion’s page here.

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