Roger Vadim, Mister Cool

The global success of his 1956 film And God Created Woman turned Roger Vadim into the acme of cool. He embodied the thirst for unbridled hedonism of a generation that had been through the horrors of war. His attitude earned him the title of “Mister Cool”. Now that he had got his start, Vadim made a string of films in quick succession. He had the pick of great French actors such as Jeanne Moreau and Gérard Philipe. He went through a string of relationships too, famously with Brigitte Bardot, Annette Stroyberg, Catherine Deneuve and Jane Fonda. He used all of them in his films, fostering the legend of himself as a Svengali figure. But they all came to detest his casual womanizing. Vadim might have become a great film director, but his playboy lifestyle got in the way of his career. (Arte)