Irma la Douce ([iÊ .ma la dus], "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American
romantic comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine,
directed by Billy Wilder. It is based on the 1956 French stage musical
Irma La Douce by Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Breffort.Irma la
Douce tells the story of Nestor Patou (Jack Lemmon), an honest cop,
who after being transferred from the park Bois de Boulogne to a more
urban neighborhood in Paris, finds a street full of prostitutes
working at the Hotel Casanova and proceeds to raid the place. The
police inspector, who is Nestor's superior, and the other policemen,
have been aware of the prostitution, but tolerate it in exchange for
bribes. The inspector, a client of the prostitutes himself, fires
Nestor, who is accidentally framed for bribery.Kicked off the force
and humiliated, Nestor finds himself drawn to the very neighborhood
that ended his career with the Paris police - returning to Chez
Moustache, a popular hangout tavern for prostitutes and their pimps.
Down on his luck, Nestor befriends Irma La Douce (Shirley MacLaine), a
popular prostitute. He also reluctantly accepts, as a confidante, the
proprietor of Chez Moustache, a man known only as "Moustache." In a
running joke, Moustache (Lou Jacobi), a seemingly ordinary barkeeper,
tells of a storied prior life, claiming to have been, among other
things, an attorney, a colonel, and a doctor, ending with the repeated
line, "But that's another story". After Nestor defends Irma against
her abusive pimp, Hippolyte, Nestor moves in with her, and he soon
finds himself as Irma's new pimp.Jealous of the thought of Irma being
with other men, Nestor comes up with a plan to stop Irma's
prostitution. But he soon finds out that it is not all that it is
cracked up to be. Using a disguise, he invents an alter-ego, "Lord X",
a British lord, who "becomes" Irma's sole client. Nestor's plans to
keep Irma off the streets soon backfire, and she becomes suspicious,
since Nestor must work long and hard in the market at night to earn
the cash "Lord X" pays Irma. When Irma decides to leave Paris with the
fictitious Lord X, Nestor decides to end the charade. Unaware he is
being tailed by Hippolyte, he finds a secluded stretch along the river
Seine, and tosses his disguise into it. Hippolyte, not having seen
Nestor change his clothes, sees "Lord X"'s clothes floating in the
water, and concludes Nestor murdered him. Before Nestor is arrested,
Moustache advises him not to reveal that Lord X was a fabrication. He
tells him, "The jails are full of innocent people because they told
the truth." Nestor admits to having killed Lord X, but only because of
his love for Irma.
romantic comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine,
directed by Billy Wilder. It is based on the 1956 French stage musical
Irma La Douce by Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Breffort.Irma la
Douce tells the story of Nestor Patou (Jack Lemmon), an honest cop,
who after being transferred from the park Bois de Boulogne to a more
urban neighborhood in Paris, finds a street full of prostitutes
working at the Hotel Casanova and proceeds to raid the place. The
police inspector, who is Nestor's superior, and the other policemen,
have been aware of the prostitution, but tolerate it in exchange for
bribes. The inspector, a client of the prostitutes himself, fires
Nestor, who is accidentally framed for bribery.Kicked off the force
and humiliated, Nestor finds himself drawn to the very neighborhood
that ended his career with the Paris police - returning to Chez
Moustache, a popular hangout tavern for prostitutes and their pimps.
Down on his luck, Nestor befriends Irma La Douce (Shirley MacLaine), a
popular prostitute. He also reluctantly accepts, as a confidante, the
proprietor of Chez Moustache, a man known only as "Moustache." In a
running joke, Moustache (Lou Jacobi), a seemingly ordinary barkeeper,
tells of a storied prior life, claiming to have been, among other
things, an attorney, a colonel, and a doctor, ending with the repeated
line, "But that's another story". After Nestor defends Irma against
her abusive pimp, Hippolyte, Nestor moves in with her, and he soon
finds himself as Irma's new pimp.Jealous of the thought of Irma being
with other men, Nestor comes up with a plan to stop Irma's
prostitution. But he soon finds out that it is not all that it is
cracked up to be. Using a disguise, he invents an alter-ego, "Lord X",
a British lord, who "becomes" Irma's sole client. Nestor's plans to
keep Irma off the streets soon backfire, and she becomes suspicious,
since Nestor must work long and hard in the market at night to earn
the cash "Lord X" pays Irma. When Irma decides to leave Paris with the
fictitious Lord X, Nestor decides to end the charade. Unaware he is
being tailed by Hippolyte, he finds a secluded stretch along the river
Seine, and tosses his disguise into it. Hippolyte, not having seen
Nestor change his clothes, sees "Lord X"'s clothes floating in the
water, and concludes Nestor murdered him. Before Nestor is arrested,
Moustache advises him not to reveal that Lord X was a fabrication. He
tells him, "The jails are full of innocent people because they told
the truth." Nestor admits to having killed Lord X, but only because of
his love for Irma.
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