I sometimes wonder how Romy Schneider coped with sharing the screen again with Alain Delon some 10 years after they split up. They were the hottest couple in the late 50's. It's been said that Delon cheated on her while they were engaged, got another woman pregnant and left Schneider for her. The opening scene shows Delon and Schneider all over each other in a rather steamy way. How much played, how much reality was involved?



Marianne (Romy Schneider) in the opening sequence

In this post I'll focus on supporting actress Jane Birkin ('la plus Francaise des Anglaises' as we call her in France) in the role of Penelope who by far has the most interesting wardrobe.

Penelope is a curious character. She doesn't say much but a lot with her look outraged by the antics of her father and the grown up world in general. The plot of La Piscine (Jacques Deray 1970) is not highly developed - a menage a trois that turns sour- and the film merely lies on the performance of three strong charismatic actors (the 3rd being Maurice Ronet) rather than the story itself.



Marianne and a rather odd green psychedelic dress and the weirdest hairdo I've come across.



Penelope (Jane Birkin) arriving at Marianne's house in the South of France. This outfit is not far from the way Birkin used to dress off set especially the wicker bag! This must have been before a bag wearing her name was created by Hermes



Another superb example of the massive sunglasses trend!



A French favourite: The gingham dress



Tiny biniki



Crochet was big in the Seventies. It came back again in the fashion magic roundabout circa 1993

If you want to know more about the Delon/Schneider romance, here's a beautiful video from Youtube where you can see some bits of La piscine



La Piscine is available on DVD copyright tf1 Video