Middle class student Bob Letellier enters a new world when he meets Alain, a free-thinking rebel who, along with his group of young Parisians, has opted for a life of instant gratification instead of work and commitment. At a party, Bob meets a young woman, Mic, who appears to be just as carefree and cynical as Alain. Mic's only dream is to own a luxury car, and with Bob's help, she manages to find the money to but it. Mic's friend Clo discovers she is pregnant and, not knowing who the father is, she asks Bob to marry her. When they next meet at a party, Bob and Mic deny that they have any feelings for one another - a declaration that soon leads to tragedy... Marcel Carné is widely regarded as one of the standard bearers of French quality cinema of the 1930s and 1940s, responsible for such masterpieces as Quai des brumes (1938) and Les Enfants du Paradis (1945). How ironic then that, in 1958, towards the end of his film-making career, he should make a film which dared to portray the attitudes and behaviour of the 1950s youth, in a way that effectively captures the mood and sentiment of the time. Les Tricheurs was a hugely controversial film, not least because of its blatant depiction of adolescent free-love, and was even banned in some regions of France. It also received some intensely unfavourable reviews, most notably from the young hotheads on the Cahiers du cinéma such as François Truffaut who cited this film as a prime example of the decline of French cinema into mediocrity. In spite of all this negative press, the film proved to be an astonishing commercial success, attracting five million cinema-goers, and was awarded the Grand Prix du Cinéma français in 1958. Whilst Les Tricheurs is not as flawless as Carné's earlier masterpieces, it is nonetheless a significant work, having the power to both shock and move its audience, whilst having great entertainment value. It evokes the mood of its time in a way that few French films of this period did, depicting young people as pleasure-seeking rebels, rejecting the austerity and discipline of the previous generation whilst pursuing a life without cares, responsibilities or love. Similarities with James Dean's films of the 1950s (most notably Rebel without a Cause) are apparent, although Carné's treatment of young people is far more abstract - in his film they merely symbolise a world that has lost its way, more or less victims of post-war prosperity. Although the young people in Les Tricheurs lack the authenticity to be totally credible, the film does make an important, and indeed quite disturbing point, about where the permissive society may be heading. Much of the pleasure of the film is in the performances from its four lead actors, Jacques Charrier, Pascale Petit, Laurent Terzieff and Andréa Parisy, although only Terzieff is really convincing in his role. Marcel Carné originally considered Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo for the parts of Bob and Alain respectively, before opting for Charrier and Terzieff. As a consolation, Carné offered Belmondo a smaller part in the film - alas too small for the actor to be noticed by the public. Belmondo's breakthrough had to wait until the following year when he starred in Jean-Luc Godard's revolutionary A bout de souffle, a film which offers a very different perspective of the youth generation.

巴黎热闹的街上，美丽的女子Garance（阿莱缇 Arletty 饰）先是认识了演员Frédérick Lemaître（皮埃尔·布拉瑟 Pierre Brasseur 饰），然后又认识了Baptiste Deburau（让-路易斯·巴劳特 Jean-Louis Barrault 饰），她还有一个追求者Pierre-François Lacenaire，一个偷东西做些坏事的人。某个夜晚，Baptiste又在酒吧遇见了Garance，他向她表白爱意，Garance也喜欢Baptiste，两人来到Baptiste居住的旅馆。Baptiste希望Garance像他爱她一样爱他，于是离开了她的房间。恰巧Garance的隔壁住着的是Frédérick，两人遂一夜春宵，坠入爱河。Garance也加入了Baptiste和Frédérick的剧团。在一次演出上，一位花花公子，Comte Édouard de Montray被Garance的美丽深深吸引。他来到后台像Garance表达了他的爱，但被Garance拒绝。于是Édouard留下了他的联系方式，希望Garance有难的时候可以找他。不久，Garance卷入一宗谋杀案，她只能寻求Édouard的帮助。多年过去了，随着Édouard走遍各地的Garance又回到了巴黎，又遇到了Baptiste、Pierre-François和Frédérick.....