Billy Wilder directed the movie Irma la Douce in 1963. It stars Jack Lemmon as Nestor Patou and Shirley MacLaine as Irma. The story takes place in the Les Halles neighborhood of Paris. This area is famous for its large outdoor food market. Nestor starts the film as an honest police officer. He is new to his job and tries to arrest several streetwalkers during a raid. This action upsets his bosses because they take bribes from the women. Nestor is fired from the police force immediately.
Nestor meets Irma at a local bar called Chez Moustache. She works on the street, and Nestor quickly falls in love with her. He does not want her to see other men. He becomes her manager to stay close to her, but he remains very jealous of her clients. To solve this problem, Nestor creates a secret identity. He wears a black eye patch and a suit to transform into Lord X. He tells Irma that he is a wealthy and lonely English lord.
Nestor pays Irma 500 francs a night as Lord X. This allows her to stop seeing other men. To afford these payments, Nestor works as a laborer at the Les Halles market throughout the night. He carries heavy crates of meat and vegetables to earn the cash. He becomes exhausted because he spends his days as Nestor and his evenings as Lord X. The plan backfires when Irma begins to fall in love with the fake Lord X. Nestor becomes jealous of himself.
The movie features very bright colors and detailed sets. Alexandre Trauner designed the streets and buildings on a Hollywood soundstage to look like a colorful version of Paris. The film is 147 minutes long. While it is based on a successful stage musical, the actors do not sing in this version. André Previn wrote the musical score for the film. Shirley MacLaine wears green clothes and green stockings in many scenes to represent her character’s name.
Moustache is the owner of the local bar and serves as the narrator. He explains the rules of the neighborhood to the audience and gives advice to Nestor. The plot reaches a peak when Nestor decides to “kill” Lord X. He throws the Lord X clothing into the Seine river. The police watch him and arrest him for the murder of the non-existent Englishman.
