Having enjoyed Henri Decoin's "Les intrigantes" and "Tous peuvent me tuer", I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, despite the director's obvious skill, it was a disappointment because the script was poor and indeed ridiculous.
Cora's husband is a resistant, but dies when the Germans raid their home. Cora doesn't seem at all upset by hubbie's death, but goes to the leader of his cell (Blier, as usual the best thing in the movie) and offers to work for him. She's sent with Henri (Andre Versini, also in "Tous peuvent) to blow a safe and steal the German plans for a rocket. presumably the V1.
Henri is held up at the station, so Cora carries out the mission. Why was she entrusted with the explosive material and how did she know just how to use it? Things get even sillier. Cora's missing sex, and allows herself to be picked up by a man claiming to be Bernard Moser, a Swiss journalist. She introduces him to Blier, who runs what must be the sloppiest Resistance group ever, because he allow Bernard to join. Is there any record of a neutral joining a resistance movement? It's only when things go wrong that they find Bernard is a German officer.. Somehow he's got the names and addresses of all the group (again, how?) They're all rounded up, except for Blier (why?) and the film ends with a scene which anticipates the ending of a much superior Resistance film ("Army of the Shadows") by a decade.
Despite the ending, there was a sequel, presumably because this seriously-flawed opus was a hit in France. I guess they wanted to forget all about the collaborators and build the myth that all nobly resisted the Occupation.
Review of La chatte
