Naughty Girl – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1956
Director: Michel Boisrond
Writers: Roger Vadim, Michel Boisrond
Cast: Brigitte Bardot, Jean Bretonnière, Françoise Fabian, Raymond Bussières, Mischa Auer, Michel Serrault, Jean Poiret, Jean Lefebvre, Darry Cowl, Bernard Lancret, Marcel Charvey, Lucien Raimbourg, Robert Rollis

Release Date: September 3rd, 2024
Approximate running time: 83 Minutes 47 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"One-of-a-kind screen legend Brigitte Bardot (Contempt) is at her sauciest as the precocious daughter of a Parisian nightclub owner in the colorful and delightful Naughty Girl (1956). The father is accused of forgery and flees the city, entrusting her care to a playboy lounge singer whose life is soon turned upside-down by Bardot’s unforgettable CinemaScope dance routines." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Naughty Girl comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 25.7 GB

Feature: 24.9 GB

Though there is some minor source debris, overall the source is in great shape. Flesh tones look healthy, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is very good, and the image retains an organic look. For the most part, colors look very good; that said, there are a few moments where they are not as strong as they should be.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced; that said, range-wise, things sound very good. It should be noted that songs being sung are not translated.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer for Les Femmes (1 minute 59 seconds, DTS-HD mono French with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with film historian Samm Deighan.

Summary:

Michel Boisrond directed Naughty Girl. He is also known for Come Dance with Me!, The Man Who Was Worth Millions, and Tender Moment.

Gangsters frame Paul Latour, a nightclub owner, for a crime he didn't commit, forcing him to flee the country. Latour entrusts the care of his rambunctious teenage daughter Brigitte with the nightclub headline performer Jean Clery until he is able to clear his name and return home. Will Jean be able to handle Brigitte’s wild ways, or will he be able to tame her?

Though Brigitte Bardot had appeared in 13 films before Naughty Girl, her career didn’t really take off until she began her collaborations with Roger Vadim, who wrote Naughty Girl’s screenplay. Their collaboration began while she was married to Roger Vadim, and they continued to work for another 16 years after they divorced. After their separation, they would make three more films, including her next-to-last film, Don Juan (Or If Don Juan Were a Woman).

Though Naughty Girl has all the elements that one would expect from a romantic comedy, the result is far from a conventional take on this genre. Where more conventional romantic comedies are characters who fall in and out of love, Naughty Girl is a romantic comedy in which one character's love for another goes unnoticed until the finale. That said, it is precisely this character's unrequited love that drives the narrative.

Where Brigitte Bardot’s most celebrated films play up her sexuality, there is only one moment in Naughty Girl that falls into this category. In this scene, Brigitte Bardot, who's wearing a bikini, distracts the gardener, who proceeds to water the pool she's just jumped into. Brigitte Bardot spends most of Naughty Girl looking adorable instead of being a full-blown sexual force of nature.

Brigitte Bardot (Contempt) delivers a captivating performance that overshadows the entire group, performance-wise. For Naughty Girl, she’s given a lot to do when it comes to moments of humor, and her comedic timing is flawless. Jean Bretonnière’s portrayal of the nightclub singer is another performance of note. His character serves as the perfect comedic foil to Brigitte Bardot’s character.

Besides being a romantic comedy, Naughty Girl is filled with musical numbers in which both of its leads shine. As mentioned before, humor plays a significant role in the story that unfolds, with one of the main comedy bits revolving around the nightclub singer trying to hide Brigitte from everyone who visits his apartment. That said, some of the comedy veers into full-on slapstick, notably an absurd finale that erupts into an all-out brawl. Ultimately, Naughty Girl is a highly entertaining farce that's a must see for fans of Brigitte Bardot.

Naughty Girl  gets a strong audio/video presentation from Kino Lorber, and its main extra is an informative audio commentary track, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer