Les petites du quai aux fleurs

While the story "proper" is hardly compelling or especially original, the dialogue by Marcel Achard sparkles and bristles with wit, the performances are uniformly superb (especially Bernard Blier and Odette Joyeux, who always shone in this kind of romantic comedy), but what really makes the film stand out is Henri Alekan's extraordinarily beautiful, masterful black and white cinematography. Even at that relatively early stage of his long career (which included Wenders' "Wings of Desire"), Alekan treats the spectator to seductive image after seductive image, with meticulous attention to detail in high-contrast lighting and composition. An absolute joy to watch (happily, the video copy was made from an excellent print), and could serve as a model for any aspiring cinematographer. "Les Petites du Quai aux Fleurs" is also interesting for the way in which it slyly alludes to its own period (the German Occupation of France) by placing here and there in the background posters for various other films from the period (notably, Jacques Becker's "Goupi Mains Rouges", and Marcel L'Herbier's "La Comedie du Bonheur").