“She is a happening all to herself.”

by Kimberly Lindbergs | May 15, 2009

Categories | Actors, British Cinema, Actresses, Alain Delon, 1968, Bikers, Marianne Faithfull, Girl On a Motorcycle, Jack Cardiff

The October 1968 issue of ABC Film Review features a great piece by Philip Bradford about the making of Jack Cardiff’s Girl On A Motorcycle. In the article the movie’s two stars (Marianne Faithfull and Alain Delon) briefly discuss what it was like to work with one another on the film. I thought it would be fun to share their quotes here along with some lovely still shots of them together on the set. I assume that most (if not all) of these photographs were taken by Jack Cardiff himself but if anyone knows otherwise, please feel free to let me know.

Alain Delon on Marianne Faithfull:
"She is a happening all to herself. She is the type of girl men fought dragons for in mythology, the type that duels have been fought over."

Marianne Faithfull on Alain Delon:
"We think alike in a lot of ways and he’s a totally dedicated actor. He helped me a lot through his ability to ignore outside things when he’s working. You have to keep cool when you’re filming. Shooting intimate love scences with swarms of technicians around you - for that you really need to learn to concentrate.  You have to shut off everyone else and make a world in which there are only two people."

girlm7


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It’s also worth noting that Marianne Faithfull isn’t afraid to call Alain Delon a "cunt" when the opportunity presents itself. For her 2002 album Kissin’ Time Faithfull recorded a beautiful song written with Dave Stewart called "Song For Nico" that is a tribute to the German songstress and one time member of The Velvet Underground. In the song Faithfull takes a well-deserved jab at Delon for the neglectful way he treated Nico and the child they had together in 1962. The curious can listen to the song on Youtube if you follow this link.

11 Comments »

  1. Keith says; May 17, 2009 @ 7:51 pm

    I love this movie. Both of them were wonderful in it.

  2. The Great Tyrant says; May 18, 2009 @ 12:55 am

    I always learn soething new from this blog. I didn’t Delon & Nico had met, let alone issued forth offspring.

  3. Dannie says; May 18, 2009 @ 3:41 am

    Jack Cardiff was full of praise for Delon in this movie. He really wanted him for the movie even when Delon said he could only be available for 2 weeks before he had to shoot his next movie Adieu l’Ami. He also said it was quite challenging shooting the final love scene when Delon and Faithfull had to be stark naked. I don’t really like this movie actually, but must say the soundtrack is awesome. Les Reed is a genius, he should have done more movie soundtracks.

  4. Kimberly Lindbergs says; May 18, 2009 @ 11:38 pm

    Keith - Obviously I love it too!

    TGT - Glad to be of service. I highly recommend the 1995 Nico documentary NICO ICON if you’d like to know more about the Delon/Nico affair.

    Dannie - Thanks for sharing that bit of info! Everything I’ve read and seen about the making of the film seems to suggest that it was a really positive experience for all involved. Les Reed is a terrific composer and recorded some great soundtracks. Don’t know if you missed it, but I wrote a bit about Reed in a previous post you can find here.

  5. Rick says; May 19, 2009 @ 8:14 am

    Kimberly, that pic of Delon looking bored, cigarette in hand, with Faithfull on top of him is classic Gallic cool. Thanks!

  6. Kimberly Lindbergs says; May 19, 2009 @ 10:46 am

    classic Gallic cool

    So true, Rick! Delon defined cool.

  7. Sarah says; May 20, 2009 @ 12:31 pm

    Thanks for letting us know! I’m pretty psyched about this! The out of print edition was a little out of my price range.

  8. Sarah says; May 20, 2009 @ 12:33 pm

    Thanks for letting us know about the re-release! I love this film, but the out of print edition was a little out of my budget.

  9. Sarah says; May 20, 2009 @ 12:35 pm

    Oops I apologize for the duplicate comments! Didn’t know the first one went through.

  10. Kimberly Lindbergs says; May 20, 2009 @ 1:02 pm

    No worries, Sarah! I’m glad the film is being re-released on DVD. Hopefully more people will get the opportunity to see it now.

  11. The Great Tyrant says; May 22, 2009 @ 4:32 pm

    The documentary sounds interesting, thanks! Apparently Nico played a gig my backwater dump of a hometown sometime in the seventies and was met with hoots of derision by the audience of punks. Fools.
    Incidentally, sorry about typos in the last comment!


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