La moucharde aka Why Women Sin (1958) Juvenile Delinquent Woman's Noir

Directed by Guy Lefranc. 

Written by Guy Lefranc, Jacques Séverac, André Tabet, Georges Tabet and based on the novel "La Fille de Proi" by Christian Coffinet.  The Cinematography was by Maurice Barry. Composer Norbert Glanzberg.

The film stars Dany Carrel as Betty Lefébure, a young woman escapee from a woman's reform school, Pierre Vaneck as Frédéric 'Fred" Martignac, a skin mag writer and Betty's boy friend. 

Yves Deniaud as: Parola, a junk dealer and part of Lefébure's former gang. Albert Dinan as Lefébure, Betty's father doing time in the big house for jewel robbery.

Florence Blot as Mme Michaud, the owner of the residence l'hôtel aka flophouse. Georges Chamarat as the jewelry fence, Serge Sauvinon as truck driver Maurice. 

With Yvonne Clech as Lucienne Lefébure Betty's sister. Paul Vandenberghe as the police commissioner. Anne-Marie Coffinet, Paul Crauchet as the cheesecake photographer, Henri Crémieux as M. Eddy the editor of the girlie mag. and Jacques Dhery. 

Story

A small town street. We watch a young woman Betty Lefébure, running down the cobblestones. She has just escaped from a "Maison de redressement - a reform school, no doubt as custom at that time, run by nuns. 

An alarm starts sounding when they discover her missing. The police start putting up roadblocks, and a motorcycle patrol starts cruising the streets looking for her. She ducks into doorways and runs down alleys. 

Out on the highway into town, Maurice a truck driver, is coming up to the roadblock. He asks what's going on and he finds out from a cop acquaintance that a girl escaped from the reform school.  

Cut back to Betty at a garage where she finds the large door ajar and sneaks in. She starts to panic when she hears a vehicle pull up outside. 

Betty hides behind a workbench. The motor turns off a door slams and Maurice opens the door wider. The light now exposes Betty. He calls out to her asking if it is she who has escaped. She tells him yes. About this time the two motorcycle cops pull up and ask Maurice if he's seen an escaped girl. He tells them no. 

Maurice likes what he sees. He tells Betty that she can hide in the back of his truck on the rest of his run to Paris.

Dany Carrel as Betty Lefébure

Serge Sauvinon as Maurice

He brings her around to the back of his rig, drops the tailgate, and starts to lift her up by her boobs by accident on purpose. 

This incident gives Maurice ideas he pulls out of town and takes the backroads towards Paris. It's partly to avoid road blocks but also part of his plan to get laid. He eventually pulls down a dirt road and stops.

He hops in the back figuring reform school girls locked up for a while may be a little horny. He's wrong and Betty pushes him away and tells him off. He apologizes explains he read her wrong, and tells her she can ride up front.

In Paris Maurice pulls up at a metro station that's right across from a truck stop he's always at the end of his runs to Paris. .He gives Betty some money, tells he if she needs anything she can usually find him across the street.

The first place Betty hits is the flop house she shared with Freddy. There she is met by Mme Michaud the landlady. Mme Michaud tells Betty that Freddy got a job as a writer for a skin mag called Paris Secrets. She gives Betty directions and She heads for the publisher.  

Florence Blot as Mme Michaud

We cut to the Paris Secrets studio, where we watch (Paul Crauchet) the cheesecake photographer and his latest model. The model, wearing a skimpy bikini, actually wants to be photographed nude. 

Paul Crauchet as the cheesecake photographer

He wants a more artistic shot with her reading a newspaper wearing a skirt (a jupe in French, BTW), a skirt that gets blow by a gust of wind exposing her legs. 

When we cut outside in the waiting room we see Betty seated waiting for Freddy, who is in a meeting with Mr. Eddy the publisher. The "artistic" argument between model in the bikini and the photographer spills out into the waiting room just about the same time Freddy pops out from the meeting.

There's a nice reunion. However, M. Eddy gets a look at Betty and likes what he sees. 

So Betty and Freddy do the town. 

Pierre Vaneck as Frédéric 'Fredgy" Martignac

At a nightclub they meet Paul the photographer, he relates the information to the both of them that Mr. Eddy will pay her to pose topless. Since Betty still has the wad Maurice gave her they are not desperate for cash.... yet. 

However we do get to see Betty's rack the next morning when she is awakened by the faucet dripping in the flop's sink. She hops out of the bed she is sharing with Freddy walks over to the sink and shuts off the drips.  

Since they managed to blow her wad from Maurice in one night and are now broke, so Betty and Freddy go to see Mr. Eddy. 

Henri Crémieux as M. Eddy

Mr. Eddy exclaims to Freddy that Betty is beautiful, and also, just the new cover girl that Freddy was on a mission to find for him. Mr. Eddy explains that it's hard for a publisher to find "bodies" with the qualities that leap off the page. He goes on to explain that the public constantly likes new faces. Betty retorts that its not the faces that you show the most. Mr. Eddy is interrupted by Freddy who announces that that is not why they came. Betty and Frank actually want Mr. Eddy help to keep her out of going back to reform school, and if its a quid pro quo, Betty will agree to pose. 

Mr. Eddy tells that good, he will call his pal Mario the Toulonnais, a government official who is well connected with everything, he has levers over all sorts of people, its the only way to survive in this ferocious world. 

He continues to explain that Betty will also have to give them something in return. Betty however relates that she was originally arrested, because she didn't rat on her girlfriend. She tells Mr. Eddy that she has principles and wont be a snitch. 

Mr. Eddy hangs up the phone and excuses himself, telling Freddy and Betty, as he indicates the photos spread out on his desk that his girls are waiting for fame. As they leave Mr. Eddy tells her if she changes her mind his proposal still stands.

Outside Freddy and Betty discuss her options. She still will not be a police informer. Betty then asks Freddy about her sister Lucienne, and Freddy tells her that she's working in a clinic in Neuilly. 

We cut to Betty visiting her sister at the clinic. 

Yvonne Clech as Lucienne Lefébure

Her sister is surprised she got let out. Betty tells her she didn't get let out and Lucienne chastises Betty for being stupid. She only had six months to go. Now if she's caught, she'll go to a real prison. Big sis tries to steer Betty right to get a job but Betty wants "easy street." Lucienne gives her some money and instructs her to see Perceval the lawyer who defended her father.

She sees Perceval who tells her her best shot is to give herself up. But while they are conversing Percival reveals that he saw her father recently at the prison about his will. He tells her that he leaves everything to her and her sister Lucienne. 

Back with Freddy she tells him the bad news. Freddy reminds her again about Mr. Eddy's buddy Mario.  She still does not want to be a snitch. When Freddy asks if the lawyer had anything else to say Betty mentions the will and it all starts going Noirsville. 

Freddy thinks the will, will be worth getting a hold of. The jewels were never recovered, the will may have the answer. When he tells her to make a choice him or her principles, Betty chooses not to betray her father. They split up. 

We cut to Maurice at the truck stop. He at a table eating a meal and reading a paper. The dining room goes quite, causing Maurice to look up. Betty has walked back into his life.

Maurice, when it rains it pours, you poor bastard....

Noirsville

This is a good little "B" French noir with non of the big heavyweight stars. Danny Carrel reminds me a bit of Audrey Hepburn.  It's entertaining and worth a watch. 7/10