Irma La Douce

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Irma La Douce

1963

2h 27m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

75%

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20 Reviews

78%

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5,000+ Ratings

This entertaining comedy finds disgraced former police officer Nestor Patou (Jack Lemmon) falling for beautiful Parisian prostitute Irma La Douce (Shirley MacLaine). Though Nestor becomes Irma's pimp, he can't stand the idea of her being with clients, so he devises a way to keep her all to himself. This scheme leads to plenty of trouble, however, and soon Nestor is forced to avoid his old law-enforcement peers in an attempt to stay with Irma and out of jail.

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Elizabeth Sussex

Sight & Sound

Set mainly in a bawdy-house that is never in the least bawdy, Billy Wilder's Irma La Douce is the kind of fantasy much favoured by Hollywood -- a sex comedy from which sex has been carefully eradicated.

Mar 11, 2020

Full Review

Sam Adams

Philadelphia City Paper

Though Irma's 143-minute length is more than a little too much of a very good thing, it's hard to dislike a movie that keeps giving you more good stuff.

Jan 26, 2019

Full Review

David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

Lemmon and Maclaine fail to reproduce the chemistry from The Apartment but this slight film is not as ignorable as reputation suggests.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 25, 2019

Full Review

Marlene Matouk

Tampa Bay Times

Billy Wilder is a great director and you can't find too many actress es better than Shirley MacLaine, so when Jack Lemmon appears on the screen, the triple-treat is complete.

Jan 13, 2021

Full Review

Dwight MacDonald

Esquire Magazine

The latest Wilder-Diamond-J.L. gagorama has everything: lovely color shots of Paris, lots of laughs, tears, action, and two of our best film actors, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Everything but charm and style, the essentials for its genre

Aug 12, 2019

Full Review

Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

A magical and beguiling tale of love of the mean streets of Paris.

Mar 16, 2019

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Isaiah Y

Not one of Billy Wilder's best scripts, but still great performances by Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/20/25

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Alejandro E

If the chequered love story between a policeman and a prostitute has its appeal, it is the chemistry between Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. It may not be among director Billy Wilder's best, but even so, the 144 minutes are well spent.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/26/25

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Will G

Jack lemmon, Shirley maclaine, Billy wilder, Paris, 1960s. What's not to like?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/25

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Rare T

A beautiful movie, all-around.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/27/24

Full Review

Aldo G

Too long for it's own good. Director Billy Wilder could have easily cut a few of his bits that make the movie drag. Nonetheless the films has excellent performances by the leads and while the lighting is flat the art direction makes the imagery pop.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/01/24

Full Review

nick s

This movie does feel a little stagey and would be better on an actual stage... especially with some of the slapstick humour and exaggerated acting. But it did have plenty of positives. The sets were amazing, the music was lively, Shirley MccLean was wonderful as usual and there was plenty of witty humour in there. And if course being a Billy Wilder film it came with his usual stamp of quality.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/02/24

Full Review

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Billy Wilder

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Shirley MacLaine

Irma La Douce

Jack Lemmon

Nestor Patou

Lou Jacobi

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Synopsis

This entertaining comedy finds disgraced former police officer Nestor Patou (Jack Lemmon) falling for beautiful Parisian prostitute Irma La Douce (Shirley MacLaine). Though Nestor becomes Irma's pimp, he can't stand the idea of her being with clients, so he devises a way to keep her all to himself. This scheme leads to plenty of trouble, however, and soon Nestor is forced to avoid his old law-enforcement peers in an attempt to stay with Irma and out of jail.

Director: Billy Wilder
Producer: Billy Wilder
Screenwriter: Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp., United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Mirisch Corporation, Phalanx Productions
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 5, 1963, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 26, 2016
Runtime: 2h 27m

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