"Come on up!" "You want it, me too." "I cut my price when it rains." "Fine, honey." "Don't force yourself." "Not even a look." "As ifwe'd rape them!" "Can't blame them." "Out in the cold, what's the one thing they want?" "." "To go home." "Why do we bother?" "." "Streetwalking's a dying art." "The johns have lost the urge." "The desire's gone out of it." "Because the mystery's gone." "Look at us." "Like lamp posts!" "." "We used to sell dreams." "Sitting down." "In the warmth." "In a place of our own." "Where did all the johns go?" "." "To their wives." "So what are we waiting for?" "." "Do you know any girls like us who made good?" "." "Who did something with their lives?" "." "Yes." "I knew one." "Her name was Marion." "But Marion was different." "How come?" "." "She wasn't like us." "It was a love story." "Remember Little Louis?" "." "Little what?" "." "Little Louis!" "." "He was our guardian angel." "Our little brother." "Best thing in my whole damn life." "No man ever loved a woman like he did." "Certainly not like that." "Certainly not like that." "When was this?" "." "Early 1945." "The US Army depots were crammed with treasure." "Chewing gum..." "Cigarettes..." "Penicillin..." "Nylons." "Where are you going?" "." "Who are you?" "." "He was a son of a whore." "His mother worked in a brothel on Rue Picpus." "That's where we met her." "The Oriental Palace." "He was born there." "Make way!" "An occupational accident." "Almost there!" "He's beautiful!" "He grew up there with dozens of mothers." "He was their mascot." "Hi, Little Louis." "Hello, darling." "Let me give you a kiss." "Come on, Little Louis." "Do me up." "What will you do when you're grown up?" "." "I'll take care of a woman." "What woman?" "." "I don't know yet." "I'm waiting." "Will you wait long?" "." "Yes." "Until I'm grown up." "Like that." "Little Louis!" "." "Coal!" "Then one day, there she was." "I'm Marion." "I'm the dish of the day." "That's what we called the new faces, the working girls of no fixed abode." "He knew she was the one." "I'll take care of you." "When?" "." "All my life." "And then?" "." "He did." "Did anyone bring cigarettes?" "." "Hold me." "I don't want to die alone." "You won't die if I'm here." "I said I'd take care of you." "You're safe." "We're both safe because we have each other." "Besides, we can't die now." "We haven't even started on the list of things you want to do!" "." "A." "Be able to swim." "B." "I haven't found a B yet." "C." "Champagne in bed at the Ritz." "D." "Do something with my life." "Like she did." "Look at her smile." "She completed her list and found him." "Found who?" "." "It says here:." "The Man of My Life." "You can tell at a glance she's in love." "She's always smiling." "Why not you?" "." "Because you're waiting for him." "I am, too." "We're both waiting for the man who'll make you smile day and night." "I'm waiting for nobody." "I have you." "But I don't make you smile." "You're wasted on me." "He's up there somewhere, looking for you, running." "He's scared too." "Scared of missing you." "Listen!" "Can you hear him?" "." "No." "Listen!" "He's praying." "Forwho?" "." "For the war to end, so we'll come up and he can find you." "Wow!" "He gave it the lot!" "Little Louis hit the streets searching." "For who?" "." "The happiness he promised Marion." "He had to find the guy!" "." "But happiness doesn't come when you whistle." "I'll say!" "I've whistled my lips to a pulp." "Sometimes it takes a little piano music." "Something simple." "If every hookerplayed piano when she's down..." "The concert would never end." ""lt was written in my palm..." ""...and in your palm too."" "But sometimes, music summons the angels." "Did you feel something?" "." "Like a shiver?" "." "Maybe it's him!" "After the war, winter hit us like an anvil." "The brothels filled up again." "With all the shortages, men came to our beds for warmth." "But for how long?" "." "No!" "." "No!" "." "A France rebuilt, a France restored cannot flourish amid these weeds!" "We must rid ourselves of these dens of tolerance that have soiled our cities and defiled our youth too long!" "Close them today!" "So that our nation may advance in righteousness!" "Mark my words!" "We must stamp out this evil at the root!" "Let us seize vice and sex by the throat!" "Little Louis?" "." "What?" "." "What will become of us when the brothels are shut?" "." "They're saying we'll be thrown out like garbage." "It's the only skill I have." "Hello." "My last john yesterday was like a small Gary Cooper." "Why are you up so early?" "." "No reason." "I just want to be pretty." "Before touching me, he gazed at me." "Without a word." "Who did?" "." "He did." "He didn't say his name or anything." "He just gazed, like he would stay forever." "How do I look?" "." "What's that?" "." "Stretch nylons." "I told you, no beige." "It's depressing." "I really like him." "AfterLittle Louis' spiel about happiness," "Marion started falling in love with all and sundry." "Can we go for a spin?" "." "Take me home, quick!" "He may be waiting for me." " Who?" "." " My silent gazer!" "You can't fall in love with every john." "I can." "I have reserves." "You weren't in bed with him last night!" "Does your heart ever beat?" "." "Yes." "You're always bugging me to be happy." "Stay out of my happiness!" "Come on." "Don't sulk." "Leave me alone!" "But I love you!" "Can't you see?" "." "You can't remove the personnel, sir." "Personnel?" "." "Forget it!" "The brothel too!" "They're finished!" "Banned!" "In two months they'll be rubble!" "They want our pricks to repopulate France!" "Not mine!" "They won't get mine!" "So it's true?" "." "They're closing us down?" "." "Over my dead body!" "That'll give them pause." ""lf you want to make me happy, Marguerite," ""lf you want to make me happy," ""Marguerite, give me your..."" "He's here, with Liliane." "Why did he gaze at me?" "." "Why did you gaze at her and not take her tonight?" "." " Who?" "." " Marion!" "Room 15 last night!" "Why did you gaze at her?" "." "I had nothing to say." "A girl like her!" "You shouldn't gaze at her." "Didn't you see what she is?" "." "I saw." "She's a whore." "You want me to bang her blindfolded?" "." "Go back and look at her now!" "Look at her!" "What did I teach you?" "." " The customer is king." " Show me your eye." "You know what, Madame Boula?" "." "That girl's had a raw deal." "Does it hurt?" "." "Will you fight for me again?" "." "We could pick someone smaller." "Guess what I dreamed last night." "A man came up to me in the street and asked me:." ""How'd you like to sing on stage?" "'?"" "His job was to spot new stars in the street to replace the old ones." "He picked out girls in the crowd who had talent." "He could see mine was huge." "Your what?" "." "Talent." "And?" "." "You know what I'd love?" "." "A hot cinnamon bun." "One cinnamon bun." "Guess what my dream would be." "To be you, all alone with all those women." "Can you write me a letter?" "." "To who?" "." "You?" "." "To "Paris Press"." "A want ad." ""Woman," dash..." ""Blue eyes," dash..." "Not plain blue." "Sky blue, tinged with gray and dark blue at the edges, if you look close... dash..." ""Soft skin..."" "so soft, you can't imagine." "You can't imagine any of it." "What it's like to wake up to a day beside her... dash..." ""Perfect condition," dash..." ""seeks similar man to live with." "Urgent.""" " Were there any replies?" "." " None." "Because he didn't mail it." "The man he'd promised Marion fell into her arms," "like in songs." "TALENT CONTEST" " What's wrong?" "." " My legs are numb." " I'm on, not you." " Makes it worse!" "Why did you bring me?" "." "To make your dream come true." "smile!" "Smile, damn it!" "Look!" "It's compulsory!" "Pretend it's just you and me." "Do it for me!" "We can win!" "Thank you!" "Next!" ""lt Was Written."" " Did she win?" "." " Wait." "It was only the first round of the contest." "I can't hear a thing!" "Listen!" "It was written in my palm and in yourpalm too" "That one day we'd meet and our dreams would come true" "How did it happen?" "." "I still don't understand it" "But I love you, so somehow fate must have planned it" "It was written that I'd love caressing your hair" "That I'd look in your eyes and find happiness there" "Only one thought makes me blue:" "Will you love me too?" "." "Yes, because it's written..." "Did she win?" "." "Of course!" "What did she win?" "." "A date!" "A date with who?" "." "With Lady Luck!" "Yes, you've won a date with Lady Luck!" "Nobody leaves Radio Paris empty-handed!" "It's yours!" "The key to success!" "You have just won an audition in a genuine, fabulous," "Parisian music hall!" "Have a kiss!" "Applause!" "And now, the man you've all been waiting for:." "Jacques Pills!" "My name is Dimitri." "Dimitri what?" "." "Dimitri Josco." "Isn't he French?" "." "Of course he is." "What's he like?" "." "He's like... a man in love." "And Marion?" "." "You took her for a little spin?" "." "Little spin?" "." "A big one!" "Did they make love?" "." "No, but so what?" "." "Anyone can, with Marion." "Even me!" "Feelings are another matter." "And when feelings sock you on the jaw, they knock a hooker flat like nothing else." "How's she feeling?" "." " She's asleep." " And you?" "." "Me?" "." "I feel like her." "I yawn when she sleeps, smile when she laughs, take a pill when her head aches..." "The day a man makes her happy, I'll grin like an idiot." "Will he make her happy?" "." "I don't know." "But it's time she got her share." "If she stays alone, she'll get nothing." "She's not alone, Little Louis." "She has you." "I don't count." "She needs somebody." "Somebody to love." "That's how he got the idea." "And made it work." "For Marion, he'd have made anything work." "Wait!" "What if she says bad things about him?" "." "Then we'll know." " There he is." " Who?" "." " It's him, I'm sure." " Who?" "." "The one you've waited for all your life." "You've met once before." "This time, take him." "He's your happiness guaranteed." "The chance of a lifetime." "He'll change your life." "When?" "." "Today, at 4 o'clock..." "on Rue de l'Aqueduc." "On the railway bridge." "He had blown his savings on bribing the fortune teller." "He'd told her what to say." "Where?" "." "Well?" "." " There." " Thanks." "Wait!" "Fancy... meeting..." "Yes." "Have you... been running?" "." "Yes." "You'll have to... help me." "Just to get started." "After, I'll know." "Yes." "Then what?" "." "He took her over the edge." "Edge of what?" "." "Dreamland." "Where prostitutes turn into princesses." "Do you ever play this game?" "." "Heads or tails!" "It's scary." "Maybe vertigo comes from the fear of losing something." " Hold me." " I've got you." "You're shaking." "Are you cold?" "." "I don't know." "I'm cold and hot." "It's inside me." "Like a cast iron radiator weighing on my chest." "Here?" "." " And here?" "." " Everywhere!" "It's like a dream, for sure." "But dreams have to be paid for, sooner or later." "In this case, sooner." "But once you've tasted happiness, it's too late to haggle." "So Marion had to work her buns off." "Especially since the johns were breaking down the door." "Come on, push!" "Push!" "To put it simply," "Marion wore out a mattress a day." "Go easy or you'll do yourself in." " Léna..." " What?" "." "I'm in love." "Do you think he'd like a watch?" "." "What?" "." "Are you sure he's the right horse?" "." "We all make mistakes." "It's no crime." "No, there's no mistake." "Coming!" "What does he do for a living?" "." "He doesn't need to do much now." "She wants to buy him a watch." "Don't be silly!" "You tell her." "She's happy." "Aren't you satisfied?" "." "Look." "If the flame burns straight, we'll stay in love." "Who?" "." "Him and me." "What ifwe were wrong?" "." "About what?" "." "Him." "What if he's not right for you?" "." "Of course he is." "How do you know?" "." "You've seen how he looks at me?" "." "When he looks at me, I know." "Strange place to meet." "You're sure it's here?" "." "Sorry I'm late." "Hi, old boy!" "Come on." "What's the rush?" "." " There's a guy after you." " Where?" "." "Don't look!" "Keep moving." "I think he's a weirdo." "Know what he said?" "." "He's obsessed with the idea of touching you." "It's driving him mad." "Be careful!" "He's the dangerous kind." "Look, he brought you this." " Maybe he's in love." " Yes, but I know his type." "They start making little presents and end up taking liberties." " He'll be getting ideas." " Like what?" "." "Like thinking he can kiss you on the street without even asking." "Hurry or we'll miss the beginning!" "Two, please." "Little L...!" "Hold me tight." "Where's Little Louis?" "." "Stay with me, Marion." "There he is!" "Get the son of a bitch!" "Shit!" "Wrong guy!" "Who were those two?" "." "Where do they fit in?" "." " They want their cut." " Cut of what?" "." "Stolen cigarettes and black market profits unfairly split." " Penicillin." " Where do you put it?" "." "Where do you catch the clap?" "." "In your ears?" "." " You're playing a dangerous game." " How come?" "." "Selling the Romanian's goods." "I can run faster than him." "So long!" "Twenty carat gold." "It's new." "You bet it's new!" "It's the watch Marion gave him." "The Romanian's after you." "He's upset." "What Romanian?" "." "Yes." "What Romanian?" "." "That one." "Find him." "Did they find him?" "." "We warned her he was a dark horse." "Did they find him?" "." "Guys like him always get found eventually." "Although he never slept in the same place twice." "I'm cold." "Come here." "Will you always hold me like this?" "." "Let me stay here." "Please." "Right here." "Who were those two guys?" "." "Which guys?" "." "The two in the cinema." "They were guys from before." "Before what?" "." "Before you." "Before you, my life was a rough draft." "A scribble." "If I hadn't found you..." "If I hadn't found you I'd have been a murderer, carving up women." "I'd have taken your legs from one... your mouth from another... your eyes... your ass... your arms... your stomach..." "Corpses everywhere with missing parts." "Think how many women's lives you've saved!" "What time's your audition?" "." "Audition?" "." "STAGE DOOR" "Quick, we're late!" "Been fighting again?" "." " Who with?" "." " Nobody." "A mistake." "Mistake?" "." "Show me your cheek." "Was it at the cinema?" "." "Next time, deny we met." "What next time?" "." " Which way?" "." " In there." "Anybody here?" "." "That's torn it." "Wait!" "We won!" "We'll sing you something." "What would you like?" "." "Too late." "Some other time." "Not some other time!" "Now!" "Look!" "Look at her." "Can't you see what you're missing?" "." "Can't you see it's your big chance?" "." "You know who she is?" "." "No." "Who is she?" "." "The girl I love... to death..." "To death." "That morning, Marion was hired as a guest star at the ABC." "In a way, it was good timing." "A week later, she was out of work." "Us, too." "CLOSED BY ORDER" "Every brothel in France said goodbye to its last customers." "Bye, Madame Boula." "Till next time, maybe." "What next time?" "." "Next time we're needed." "Ever since then, we've walked the streets." "The other girls?" "." "What happened to them?" "." "What do you think?" "." "They won the Nobel Prize?" "." "When you've been a hooker all your life, you have one big asset." "Get your story straight." "Wasn't she hired as a singer?" "." "Yes, but she still had to eat." "With three mouths to feed, even Little Louis hit the streets." "Hi, Little Louis." "Hi, guys." "It wasn't the lap of luxury, but at least they were together." "Together?" "." "How?" "." "Like that." "Where did Little Louis sleep?" "." "There." ""My feller's no Apollo" ""Hercules would beat him hollow" ""He has failings galore" ""But I love him all the more..."" "What failings?" "." "What failings?" "." ""..." "I love him."" "Put the light out?" "." "Come here." "Coming." "'Night, Little Louis." "'Night, Marion." "See you tomorrow." "We're leaving." "Where to?" "." "Somewhere else." "Take the back stairs!" "He's not just a dark horse, he's the whole herd!" "We forgot my dress!" "I'll buy you a new one." "Come on!" "With what money?" "." "I knew it!" "The guy's a mistake!" "We picked a dud!" "We shouldn't have grabbed the first one we saw." "What's the matter?" "." "We got carried away." "I'll find you the right guy." "What's wrong?" "." "Are you jealous?" "." "Jealous of what?" "." "You want to leave?" "." "Not leaving us, are you, old boy?" "." "Come on, let's go." "Look." "She sleeps like a baby." "You know what we look like?" "." "Two chumps who stole the Mona Lisa, wondering what to do next." "I never dreamed I'd get someone like her." "You think I don't deserve her." "You know what?" "." "I think I don't deserve her either." "I'm a liar, a coward and a thief." "All my life, I've taken whatever I could." "But I didn't take her." "She just looked at me." "Now I'm like you." "Like me how?" "." "She's all I've got in the world." "Look at me." "Why don't you look at me?" "." "This isn't how I pictured it." "I saw something happier." "Happier?" "." "How?" "." "I don't know." "I pictured something prettier, bigger." "More like lndependence Day." "I'll give her independence Day all year long." "You look more like Memorial Day." "A rainy day that ends in tears." "I don't want Marion to get hurt." "Come on." "Hurry, let's go." "Marion, wake up." "Quick." " What's going on?" "." " Hurry!" "We're leaving." "Open up!" "Anybody in?" "." " What are you doing?" "." " Open the door!" "What day is it?" "." "Sunday." "Will you marry me?" "." "Please!" "I'm crazy for you." "Be my wife!" "Say yes!" "Go on then, old boy!" "Josco, Dimitri." "Do you take..." "Do you take..." "Josco, Dimitri." "Do you take" "Marion Maudet as your lawful wedded wife?" "." "I do." "Marion." "Marion?" "." "Maudet, Marion." "Do you take Dimitri Josco as your lawful wedded husband?" "." "I do." "I declare you man and wife." "They vowed to get married the next day, for real." "Just after their wedding night." "It's my wedding night!" "Champagne for everyone!" "Here's to the bride!" "Hold me tight." "Tighter." "You remember my list?" "." "My wish list?" "." "You promised they'd all come true." "And you know... you were on the list." "You were on it." "Anyone for poker?" "." "I'll show you the room." "The camp bed's for you?" "." "I hate weddings." "Why?" "." "None of your business." "What are we waiting for?" "." "Don't ask me." "My ass is frozen." "So let's do it." "Full house!" "Sorry guys, it's mine." " Lay off him!" " Run, Marion!" "Run!" "Little Louis!" "Get in the car!" "We'll dump her later." "But they didn't dump Marion." "As you'd expect, they kept her." "What for?" "." "To have something valuable to trade." "Trade for what?" "." "What you owe me." "That's good." "Keep your hand there." "Calm him down." "Tell him he's right... to be scared." "Why not try your luck?" "." "Ace, we're quits." "King, I pay you double." "And the queen?" "." "What's she worth?" "." "Telephone for you!" " 850,000 francs." " How much?" "." "850,000." "6 p.m. tomorrow on La Chapelle bridge." "6 p.m. tomorrow." "It was her first night." "Marion's first night at the ABC." "It didn't leave us much time." "Who's "us"?" "." "Us." "For the next 18 hours, every whore in town worked for Little Louis." "Street girls, bar girls, even girls with the flu." "It was one big charity ball." "There." "Now go!" "Get going!" "He won't come." "Let's do it." "No point in waiting." "Are you nervous?" "." " It's my first time." " What?" "." "Killing a guy in cold blood like this." "Much less a doll." "A doll like her." "Here he comes." "He's got it." "In the kisser." "Two slugs each." "And the delivery boy?" "." "He's nobody." "Forget him." "Dimitri!" "You must go." "It's your big night." "No." "Yes!" "Go where?" "." "Remember your wish list." " I can't do it." " You can." "Come on." "I'm here." "I'm here." ""Let's not think too much aboutwhatwe do" ""Let's just go wherever fate takes us" ""It's pointless to look for reasons" ""For our existence is planned in advance..." ""lt was written in my palm and in your palm too" ""That one day we'd meet and our dreams would come true" ""How did it happen?" "." "I still don't understand it" ""But I love you, so somehow Fate must have planned it" ""lt was written that I'd love caressing your hair" ""That I'd look in your eyes and find happiness there" ""Only one thought makes me blue:." "Will you love me too?" "." ""Yes, because it's written."" "You have more songs?" "." "I need more!" "I need four songs." "Four!" "What for?" "." "First, a record!" "After, we'll see." "You're exquisite." "Your voice!" "Your presence!" "Everyone's wild about you." "Extraordinary!" "I'll offer you a five-year contract." "Five years!" "Extraordinary!" "So you see?" "." "She did something with it." "With what?" "." "Herlife." "I'm thirsty." "It's cold!" "See that log, there?" "." "If I hit it, we get married tomorrow." "Make it the day after." "Too bad." "Anybody seen my shoes?" "." "Too many mosquitoes here." "Aren't you thirsty?" "." "Where's he gone?" "." "Who?" "." "Can you do me up?" "." "Got it!" "Found one!" "It's raining again." "Let's go home." "They won't come tonight." "There's always tomorrow." "Whenever you like." "Subtitles by Nigel Palmer" "Processed by C.M.C."