Le Plaisir
Le Plaisir (English title, House of Pleasure) is a 1952 French comedy-drama anthology film by German-born film director Max Ophüls (1902–1957) adapting three short stories by Guy de Maupassant — "Le Masque" (1889), "La Maison Tellier" (1881), and "Le Modèle" (1883). Ophüls was nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction. This was the last of Ophüls' two Oscar nominations in his career. The mask worn by Ambroise in Le Masque was created by Rotislav Doboujinsky and would become one of the costume designer's specialties. Plot Le Masque A masked young dandy goes to an ornate dance hall, where he finds a young woman to be his dance partner. When he faints from the exertion, a doctor is called. He discovers that the dandy's mask hides his aged appearance. The doctor takes the old man home to his patient wife. She explains that her husband Ambroise used to attract the ladies who frequented the hairdresser salon where he worked, but in the space of two years, he lost his looks. He goes out in disguise in an attempt to recapture his youth. La Maison Tellier Julia Tellier, the well-respected madam of a small-town brothel, takes her girls on an outing