The Girl on a Motorcycle

The Girl on a Motorcycle
French theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jack Cardiff
Screenplay by	Ronald Duncan
Adaptation by	Jack Cardiff
Thought sequences dialogue by	Gillian Freeman
Based on	La Motocyclette by André Pieyre de Mandiargues[1]
Produced by	William Sassoon
Starring	Alain Delon Marianne Faithfull Roger Mutton Marius Goring
Cinematography	Jack Cardiff (photography) René Guissart Jr. (lighting)
Edited by	Peter Musgrave
Music by	Les Reed
Production companies	Adel Productions Mid-Atlantic Film (Holdings)
Distributed by	British Lion Films (UK) Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (France)
Release date	October 1968
Running time	91 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom France
Language	English
Box office	626,331 admissions (France)[2]

The Girl on a Motorcycle (French: La motocyclette) is a 1968 British-French erotic romantic drama film directed by Jack Cardiff, starring Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull and featuring Roger Mutton, Marius Goring and Catherine Jourdan. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival but the festival was cancelled due to the May 1968 events in France.^[3] The Girl on a Motorcycle redefined the leather jacket for motorcyclists into a catsuit that Faithfull wore in the film.^[4] It was the first film to receive an X rating in the United States.^[5] Edited by Warner Brothers to get an "R" rating, the film was released as Naked Under Leather in the United States.

Plot[]

The film is set in France and Germany.

Newly married Rebecca leaves her husband Raymond's bed on her prized motorbike—her symbol of freedom and escape. During her ride to visit Daniel, her lover in Heidelberg, she indulges in psychedelic and erotic reveries as she relives her changing relationship with the two men. Her flashback scenes reveal the background story. Rebecca met Daniel while working at her father's bookshop a few weeks before her marriage to Raymond, a school teacher. Daniel gives Rebecca motorcycle driving lessons on a Norton motorcycle. They quickly become lovers. She asks him if he will marry her, and he simply says "No". She tells him that she is soon to be married, and he says he will give her a wedding present. A Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle is delivered to Rebecca at the bookshop. Her father says she should refuse it, but she asks Raymond what she should do and he says she should do what will make her happy. She rides the motorcycle from France to Germany to be with Daniel. On the return trip, after having several drinks of kirsch in a small village bar, she decides to go back to Daniel rather than Raymond. She drives fast and recklessly, and although she wears leathers she has no helmet. Her ride to Daniel ends prematurely when she collides with a truck which swerves in front of her, throwing her head-first through the windscreen of an oncoming car, which then crashes into the truck.

Cast[]

• Alain Delon as Daniel
• Marianne Faithfull as Rebecca
• as Raymond
• Marius Goring as Rebecca's Father
• Catherine Jourdan as Catherine
• as Jean
• Jacques Marin as Pump Attendant
• André Maranne as French Superintendent
• as First French Customs Officer
• Arnold Diamond as Second French Customs Officer
• as German Customs Officer
• Marika Rivera as German Waitress
• as 1st Student
• Chris Williams as 2nd Student
• as 3rd Student

Cast notes[]

• Faithfull's riding double in medium to distant shots was Bill Ivy, British GP champion and former world champion motorcyclist.^[6]

Production[]

The film was made on locations in France (including Haguenau), Germany (including Neulauterburg), Switzerland (including Geneva), and Belgium. The bookshop scenes were filmed at a bookshop in Geneva. In many of the scenes where Marianne Faithfull is seen driving the Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle at high speeds, she was seated on the motorcycle which was attached to a platform that was being pulled by a vehicle in front of it. Many of the scenes were filmed in the English language and then again in the French language. Cardiff received extensive cooperation from the police in blocking the roads, so many scenes show only the lone motorcycle and no other vehicular traffic. The final crash scene was staged on an abandoned airstrip in England. The "psychedelic" colour effects were achieved by solarizing the film during post-production.

Reception[]

The film was the sixth most popular movie in general release in Britain during 1968.^[7]

Home media releases[]

The Girl on a Motorcycle was released on VHS in 1998 and DVD in 1999 by Starz/Anchor Bay. A remastered edition on DVD and Blu-ray Disc was released in 2012 by Jezebel. Both versions contain the same film material, commentary by director Jack Cardiff, and original theatrical trailer. However, the earlier version is approximately 91 minutes long, while the later, remastered version, is approximately 88 minutes long. This time discrepancy is due to the earlier version playing at a slightly slower speed.

References[]

External links[]

• The Girl on a Motorcycle at IMDb