Elly Norden

"Bluebeard" (German: "Blaubart") is a 1951 black comedy film directed by Christian-Jaque and starring Hans Albers, Cécile Aubry and Fritz Kortner. Based on the fairy tale "Bluebeard" by Charles Perrault, it was a co-production between West Germany, France and Switzerland. It was made using the Gevacolor process. A separate French-language version, "Barbe-Bleue", was also made.

A mysterious woman takes her daughter on vacation after they've been separated for several months. There, she meets some of the richest and most eccentric people, who are hiding just as much as she is.

Just before wowing international critics and moviegoers with his adventure romp Fanfan la Tulipe, director Christian-Jaque dashed off the lampoonish Barbe-Bleue. Ostensibly the story of the famed wife-killing potentate Bluebeard (Pierre Brasseur), this lighthearted costumer begins as the title character is poised to march down the matrimonial aisle for the eighth time. Barbe-Bleue's newest spouse Aline (Cécile Aubry) is kept in line by her husband's claims of murdering her predecessors. But when Aline opens the famous locked door to the equally famous hidden room, both she and the audience are in for quite a surprise. The frivolous nature of Barbe-Bleue is underlined by its pleasing utilization of the French Gezacolor process.