Love Is My Profession (French title: En cas de malheur, meaning In Case of Adversity) is a 1958 French drama film directed by Claude Autant-Lara. It is based on a novel by Georges Simenon.
Lawyer André Gobillot (Jean Gabin) defends Yvette Maudet (Brigitte Bardot) in court after she is caught trying to rob a store and hit an old lady on the head. Gobillot feels an attraction to Yvette that leads him to employ some shady tactics that win him the case and afterwards she becomes his mistress. The fact that Gobillot is already married and the generational gap between him and Yvette makes their relationship a difficult one. On top of that, Yvette has another lover on the side, the very jealous and immoral Mazetti (Franco Interlenghi).
Tropes:
- Age-Gap Romance: Gobillot is much older than Yvette and the generational gap between them causes strain in their ill-advised relationship.
- Amoral Attorney: Gobillot is so taken with Yvette that he arranges for a false witness to testify in court in her favor. This gets him in trouble later as an inquiry is opened to investigate it.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Mazetti breaks into Yvette's apartment and rips up all the clothes Gobillot bought for her, then hangs them all around the apartment. Yvette is so disturbed that she throws up, then later quips that it looks like Bastille Day to lighten up.
- Downer Ending: Yvette is killed by Mazetti in a jealous rage. It's left up in the air whether Gobillot will be able to go back to his wife and not get disbarred.
- If I Can't Have You…: Yvette gets pregnant with Gobillot's child and plans to break it off with Mazetti for good. When she goes to see him for the last time, he kills her to, in his own words to the police, stop her from leaving.
- The Mistress: Gobillot is married, but his attraction to Yvette leads to him taking her as a kept woman, installing her in a hotel room so they can keep seeing each other.
- Sex for Services: Yvette hires Gobillot as her lawyer by offering herself to him, since she can't offer monetary compensation.
- Show Some Leg: Yvette doesn't have the money to pay Gobillot, so she convinces him to defend her in court by lifting her skirt and showing him her shapely legs.
