The Girl in the Bikini (French title: Manina, la fille sans voiles, meaning Manina, the Girl Without Veils) is a 1952 French adventure film directed by Willy Rozier.
Gérard (Jean-François Calvé) is a 25-year-old student who learns about a treasure that got lost in the Mediterranean Sea. Some years before, he found an amphora while diving off the Corsican coast, so he believes the treasure is hiding in that same spot. He strikes a deal with cigarette smuggler Eric (Howard Vernon) to take him there with his boat and help him, although Eric is skeptical. Gérard also meets up with an old friend from when he first found the amphora, Manina (Brigitte Bardot), and the two fall in love.
Tropes:
- Bar Brawl: Gérard punches a man for trying to interrupt him while he's trying to get information from Franchucha, which leads to a brawl involving the entire clientele of the pub he's at.
- Conveniently Cellmates: Gérard goes to jail for the Bar Brawl and ends up sharing a cell with Eric, whom he convinces to take him diving in the Mediterranean.
- Death by Materialism: After Gérard finds the treasure, Eric leaves him behind on the rocky islands and takes the treasure so he can have it all to himself. While Gérard can't stop him, Eric gets conveniently killed in a violent storm and his ship sinks along with the treasure.
- Ms. Fanservice: As implied by the title, Brigitte Bardot's character spends a lot of her screentime in a bikini; in fact, this was one of the first movies to show off a character in a bikini, and it was at a time when the garment was still considered immodest.
- Pirate Booty: Gérard's goal is to find a load of sesterces that are thought to have been lost in the Mediterranean Sea after the Peloponnesian War.
- She Is All Grown Up: Gérard first met Manina when she was 13 and his friends imply he feels sorry she's only that age, but he only thinks she's nice. Then he runs into her again in his search for the treasure, she's now 18 and he quickly gets into a romance with her.
- Tap on the Head: The Bar Brawl is stopped by the police, who make liberal use of their bats on the brawlers' heads; this is presented as slapstick humor.
- Time-Shifted Actor: Manina is played by Brigitte Bardot at 18 and a younger, uncredited actress at 13.
- Venturous Smuggler: Eric is a cigarette smuggler used to crossing the sea with illegal cargo. He helps Gérard look for the treasure in hopes of profiting from it. In the end, he betrays Gérard so he can have it all for himself, but then gets killed in a storm.
