University of Virginia Library

Incredulous Line

The difficulty lies in the nature
of the show's concept and its
incredulous story line.
Nestor-le-Fripe is a young law
student-innocent, amiable, and
vulnerable- who strolls into a bar
inhabited by members of the Paris
underworld and meets up with
Irma-la-Douce-saucy, childish, and
experienced in her craft, which is
that of a "poule" (if you don't
know French, I'll leave it to your
imagination).

It's love at first sight (well, what
do you expect from the French?).
Only Nestor doesn't like the idea of
Irma having so many "clients," so
he disguises himself as a wealthy
old man and becomes her sole
client. Then when Irma becomes
too attached to the old fellow,
Nestor murders him, is brought to
trial for the crime, and is sent to
Devil's Island.