Elena and Her Men

Elena and Her Men is a 1956 film directed by Jean Renoir and starring Ingrid Bergman and Jean Marais. The film's original French title was Elèna et les Hommes, and in English-speaking countries, the title was Paris Does Strange Things. It is the third addition to the trilogy, preceded by The Golden Coach (1953) and French Cancan (1955). A restored copy has been released in the 21st century.

Plot

Produced in 1956, and set in 1890 France, Elena and Her Men tells the story of a young, beautiful, and free-spirited Polish princess in fin de siècle Paris who specializes in granting people good luck. Elena's family has run out of money, and in order to save them, she agrees to marry a wealthy, older family friend. No sooner has she agreed to this engagement, then she meets a handsome stranger during a 14 July celebration, who turns out to be the famous General Rollan's aide, Count de Chevincourt (Mel Ferrer). Sparks fly with the Count, but when he introduces Elena to General Rollan (Jean Marais), the General is quite taken with her as well. By the end of the day, Elena finds her hands full with her engagement and the romantic interests of two new men. To further complicate matters, General Rollan's political advisers see the General's romantic interest in Elena as a way to influence him to overtake the French government, and they employ her to grant him the luck he needs to do so.