Mademoiselle et son gang

Paris: Cinedis, 1957. Archive of original candid single- and double-weight photographs and color transparencies for the 1957 French film, "Mademoiselle et son gang," from French distributor and press and film agency, Cinedis. Nearly all feature starring actress Renaud in glamour poses, some reclining, some ascending a staircase in a shimmering paisley dress with matching high heels. Several candid photos feature racing drivers Harry Schell and Peter Collins, director Jean Boyer, and other members of the film crew.

Included in the archive are 12 black-and-white single-weight on-the-set photos with manuscript annotations in ink on the versos, and 28 images of Renaud in glamour poses: 6 double-weight full-color glamour portraits (Gevaert paper, rubber-stamped PHOTO COULEURS / HERDET PHOTO on the versos), 2 full-color transparencies, 20 smaller mounted full-color transparencies. Original photo envelopes also present.

Renaud, who later became a prominent AIDS activist, stars as a writer whose crime fiction entry attracts the attention of swindlers, even as she joins a gang and becomes its leader. Little known film by Boyer, whose credits include "Calais-Douvres" (1931), "End of the World" (1931), "Roses noires" (1935), "Serenade" (1940), and "One Does Not Die That Way" (1946).

Cinedis was prominent during the French New Wave, distributing and promoting some of the genre's greatest films, including "Jules and Jim," "Le Trou," "The Gates of Paris," even the popular "Don Camillo" series starring Fernandel.

Photos range in size, the smallest being 3.75 x 4.75 inches, the largest being 6.75 x 9.25 inches; transparencies 4 x 4.75 inches, mounted transparencies 2 x 2 inches in 9.5 x 12-inch black mounts, 12 windows each (1 mount with only 8 transparencies present). Housed in a cardboard paper box from the As de Trefle company, with title label for the film on the lid.

Curling to photos, box Good only, else Near Fine overall. A fantastic tribute to actress and singer Renaud's beauty, and a glimpse behind the scenes.

[Book #142759]