VADIM, ROGER

(1928-2000)

Director and screenwriter. Roger Vadim was born Roger Vadim Plemiannikov in Paris. He studied drama under Charles Dullin and started as a stage actor. He acted in and contributed to the scripts ofMarc Allégret'sMaria Chapdelaine(1950) andFutures vedettes(1955), and the latter starred Vadim's first wife,Brigitte Bardot. Vadim worked as Allegret's assistant for ten years and coscripted Michel Boisrond'sCette sacrée gamine(1956), also starring Bardot. He was also a journalist forParis-Match.

Vadim made his directorial debut with the internationally successfulEt Dieu créa la femme, with Bardot in the lead, which was released in 1956.Et Dieu créa la femmehas been considered an important forerunner to theNouvelle Vagueor New Wave, because it opened the door for unknown film directors in its demonstration that newcomers could create commercially profitable films. In addition,Jean-Luc GodardandFrançois Truffautwere impressed by Bardot's uncontained sexuality in the film. The film launched Bardot's international fame and has been acclaimed for its skillful use of Cinemascope and Eastmancolor.

Vadim's next films wereSait-on jamais(1957), a Berlin Bear-nominated film in which women protagonists continued to challenge traditional views of female sexuality, andLes bijoutiers du clair de lune(1958). HisLes liaisons dangereuses, featuringJeanne MoreauandGérard Philippe, was among the top five French films at the box office in 1959. Vadim's vampiress film,Et mourir de plaisir(1960), starred his second wife, Annette Stroyberg Vadim. His next films wereLa bride sur le cou(1961) andLe repos du guerrier(1962), both starring Bardot.Catherine Deneuveplayed one of her early starring roles alongsideAnnie Girardotin Vadim'sLe vice et la vertu(1963). He later directedChâteau en Suède(1963) andLa ronde(1964), which marked his first collaboration with Jane Fonda, who became his third wife. She also starred inLa curée(1966) and the AnglophoneBarbarella(1968), a film adapted from a French science-fiction comic strip.

Some have argued that Vadim enjoyed flaunting the beauty of his wives and lovers in his films. He wrote a memoir titledBardot,Deneuve,Fonda:My Life With the Three Most Beautiful Women in the World(1986), which seems to corroborate that theory. Vadim worked with other Hollywood stars besides Fonda. HisPretty Maids All in a Row(1971) featured Rock Hudson and Angie Dickenson. His next features wereHellé(1972) andDon Juan ou si Don Juan était une femme(1973), both with Bardot and another Vadim favorite,Robert Hossein. Also in the 1970s, Vadim directedLa jeune fille assassinée(1974) andUne femme fidèle(1976), starring Sylvia Kristel, the actress who led in Just Jaeckin's 1974 erotic blockbuster,Emmanuelle. In the 1980s, Vadim directedNight Games(1980),Hot Touch(1982), andSurprise-Party(1983). His last film, before moving on to television, was the English-languageAnd God Created Woman(1988), with Rebecca de Mornay.