The Swingin' Sixties

Catherine DeNeuve

in Belle du Jour

in Mississippi Mermaid

Scoop's note: Speaking of the sixties and Catherine DeNeuve, teenaged Scoop was crazy about DeNeuve's older sister, Francoise Dorleac (external bio link). (Dorleac was their father's name; DeNeuve was their mother's maiden name.)

Francoise was a star in her own right, having co-starred with such international screen luminaries as David Niven, Michael Caine, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Gene Kelly. In fact, Kelly had a minor role in a French musical film starring both Dorleac sisters (The Young Girls of Rochefort).

So why don't you hear anything about Francoise? She died tragically young (25) in a 1967 auto accident in the south of France. She lost control of her car while rushing to catch a plane at the Nice airport. Her candle burned briefly, but shone brightly.

Here is Francoise topless in Roman Polanski's Cul-de-Sac.