Unlike Most of the cinematic world's current leading ladies, France's Jeanne Moreau, by her own admission, possesses few of the physical assets commonly considered prerequisites for projecting sex appeal. And yet La Moreau--as she was dubbed by the French press years ago--has been described by international film critics as "a slithering sensualist," "a cold, blasé beauty" and most of the other sexual superlatives normally reserved for only the most well-endowed filmic females. Eschewing any attempts to rank her among today's growing crop of celluloid sex goddesses ("Beautiful? Of course not. That's the whole point about me, isn't it?"), the 37-year-old Gallic femme fatale relies on her reputation as a versatile actress and out-spoken sensualist as the key to her charismatic charm. As she puts it, "When I am in love, it influences my pleasure in acting. Most people don't have the energy for passion, so they give up and go to the movies."
Although dedicated to the screen as a vehicle for her voluminous talents, Miss Moreau first made her dramatic presence felt on the stages of Paris' Comédie Française and Théâtre National Populaire. Not until 1959, with 20 "forgettable films" already to her credit, did she find her moviemaking métier as the star of Louis Malle's "The Lovers." The first of many professional / passionate men in her well-publicized private life, Malle launched her career as French filmdom's most desirable of devastated demoiselles. Now with starring stints in such films as "The Victors," "The Trial," "Jules and Jim," "Banana Peel" and "La Notte" behind her, Moreau has once again teamed up with director Malle in his forthcoming "Viva Maria!", a fin-de-siècle tale of Latin American war and women, in which Jeanne and Brigitte Bardot share seductive honors across the same scenic Mexican countryside that provided the mood for this provocative portfolio.
Moreau's flair for cinematic candor is often outshone by her own frankness. On men: "I learn well from men. Wouldn't my life be ridiculous if I didn't?" On love: "All women should keep their lovers, somehow, if they can." On success: "Fame means nothing. You can't make love to it ..." On politics: "I should have had ten love affairs instead of wasting all that time." On herself: "My secret is to have no secrets. I'm transparent."
