Girls in Distress

Jeune Filles en Detresse Young Girls in Distress was director G W Pabsts last French production before his illtimed return to Nazioccupied Austria in 1941 Somewhat reminiscent of Maedchen in Uniform the story is set in a private girls school populated almost exclusively by children from broken homes Among the few students who can claim family stability is Micheline Presle but even her happiness is threatened when her lawyer father Andre Luguet inaugurates an affair with stage actress Jacqueline Debulac With the help of Debulacs daughter Louisa Carletti Presle is able to break up her fathers romance and deliver him into the open arms of her mother Marcelle Chantal On the whole the performance by the younger cast members are more convincing than those rendered by the films socalled adults