One of the most famous French films of the 1950s, Roger Vadim's And God Created Woman stars Brigitte Bardot as a blonde, sexually restless 18-year-old who flirts with a middle-aged shipyard owner (Curt Jurgens) before getting entangled with an older brother/younger brother pair (Christian Marquand and Jean-Louis Trintignant) - one of whom she marries before sleeping with the other. According to Georges Sadoul in “Dictionary Of Films”:
“This was Vadim's first feature and he made a spectacularly successful debut by launching Brigitte Bardot in the U.S.A. where, it is reported, she grossed more dollars in 1957-58 than the sale of Renault cars. ‘I prefer this of all my films,' Vadim has said. ‘It is the one in which I was free to tell a story that really meant something to me. I attribute its success to Brigitte's personality, initially physical in its appeal, and to her role, which allowed her to show her confidence, dynamism, and totally free sexual behavior. I didn't try to portray a typical 1956 girl but this unique personality who could not have existed at any other time.'
“The film's daring love scenes helped its success, but it is its portrayal of the Fifties ‘amoral' generation that holds the attention. The erotically emancipated female in search of a male passionate yet firm enough to satisfy her was embodied in this film by Bardot. Her character, and that of her husband, contrast sharply with the traditional values of the wealthy tycoon (a role introduced into the film at the last minute), who still assumes money conquers all, and with the conventional morality of the elder brother, who despises the girl for sleeping with him.
“Though Vadim later fell prey to commercializing sexual themes, this first film of his has a special significance. It broke the stranglehold of the established producers in France who, awed by the film's success, allowed the nouvelle vague breakthrough.”