Benjamin
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Michel Deville
Michèle Morgan
Catherine Deneuve
Pierre Clementi
Michel Piccoli
Francine Bergé
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In 18th-century France, Benjamin, a 17-year-old orphan of noble birth, sets off with his faithful guardian, Camille, to visit his wealthy aunt, the Countess de Valandry. Benjamin's good looks charm his aunt, and she amusedly indulges his boorish manners. Benjamin's naiveté in sexual matters prompts the countess' lover, Count Philippe, to take the lad under his wing for tutelage. He brings him to visit another 17-year-old orphaned virgin, the exquisite Anne de Clécy, under the pretext of inviting her to a party at the countess' chateau the next evening. Before they depart, Benjamin is able to observe Philippe's flirtatious behavior with Anne. Next, Philippe allows Benjamin to watch, through a window, his seduction of a married woman. The two then return for a nighttime visit to Anne's bedroom, but she successfully, if teasingly, evades Philippe's advances. The following day, Benjamin makes arrangements for various amorous assignations (with servant girls Marion, Célestine, and Victorine, and the married woman whose seduction he witnessed), but each tryst is prematurely interrupted. In the meantime, Philippe, impressed with Anne's resistance the night before, asks her to marry him; and though she refuses him, she is secretly pleased. When some stray fireworks set afire the stable where Benjamin has been romping with two of the servant girls, he is forced to return to his room for a change of clothing. There he discovers the waiting Anne, who explains that, though she has decided to marry Philippe, she wants him, another innocent, to deflower her and thus deny Philippe that satisfaction. While the others are distracted by the fire, Anne and Benjamin at last make love. The following morning, Anne makes the latest entry in the diary that Benjamin has been keeping--an inscription that attests to his new sexual status.
Director
Michel Deville
Cast
Michèle Morgan
Catherine Deneuve
Pierre Clementi
Michel Piccoli
Francine Bergé
Anna Gaël
Catherine Rouvel
Jacques Dufilho
Odile Versois
Simone Bach
Angelo Bardi
Sacha Briquet
Lyne Chardonnet
Madeleine Damien
Jacques Filh
Tania Torrens
Cécile Vassort
Jean Lefèvre
Brigitte Defrance
Danièle Girard
René Bazart
Eve Cloquet
Magali Louis
Diana Lepvrier
Crew
Reno Adipietro
Rita Bayance
Luigi Boccherini
Mag Bodard
Mag Bodard
Carita
Michel Choquet
Ghislain Cloquet
Nina Companeez
Nina Companeez
Nina Companeez
Michel Deville
Philippe Dussart
André Girard
Joseph Haydn
André Hervée
Jean Lefèvre
Alexandre Marcus
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Jean Nény
René Pascal
Claude Pignot
Jean Philippe Rameau
Jean Wiener
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Filmed on location at the Chateau St. Brice near Cognac. Paris opening: January 1968 as Benjamin ou les mémoires d'un puceau; running times: 105 and 100 min. One U. S. source gives running time as 108 min. Sources disagree on composer of original music. Advertised as Benjamin; The Diary of an Innocent Young Boy.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in France January 1968
Released in United States 1969
Released in United States 1969
Released in France January 1968
