LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Although Brigitte Bardot was already famous in France, this is the movie (known as "And God Created Woman" in the USA) that made Bardot an international star. She was the first foreign language star to gain such widespread popularity abroad and she opened the door for others to follow in her footsteps. Bardot was a bombshell in any language...and you certainly didn't need to read the subtitles to see that! The tag line to the movie was "And God Created Woman...but the devil created Brigitte Bardot!" An erotic drama (the scene with Bardot dancing barefoot on a table is still hot enough to melt any acetate it's printed on) co-starring Jean-Louis Trintignant (who Bardot allegedly had an affair with) that tells the tale of "life and love" on the Riviera. It made St. Tropez the popular resort for the rich and famous that it soon was to become. French director Roger Vadim (known for his affairs with beautiful women) was Brigitte's husband at the time and he wrote this film specifically for her, in hopes of adding more depth to Bardot's on-screen characters. While Bardot was received well in Hollywood, she was still considered too risque to be offered any kind of contract in the USA. Ironic considering she is now a supporter of the extreme right-wing in France, but it was 1956 and the bikini was still considered a scandalous piece of clothing in the USA. The sexual content also created a huge uproar and was boycotted by the Catholic Church's Legion of Decency. Brigitte (only 23 years old) can be heard for the first time on record, doing some spoken French narration as intros and outros to the soundtrack, a jazz fused 1950s orchestra and mambo-influenced piece (all the rave at the time) written by French composer Paul Misraki. Track listing - Side A: 1. And God Created Woman, Pt. 1 Side B: 1. And God Created Woman, Pt. 2