Les surmenés (1958)

Synopsis (spoilers): An introduction is shown about the fast urbanization of the 20th century and the change in pace that it has brought about in people's lives. The short story which follows tells of a country girl who moves to Paris to work as a typist for her fiancé, and who becomes addicted to the hectic nightlife of the city; it eventually affects her work negatively. A parallel subplot tells about her brother-in-law -- in whose apartment the typist girl is living -- who works as a newspaper editor and stays at his job until late hours and then gets up very early in the morning to exercise; it's no wonder he is overcome by fatigue too, and in a severer form than her sister-in-law.

Appraisal: This deliciously anachronic short is the perfect cinematic equivalent of those health articles which used to appear in 50's and 60's magazines and ended up in abridged form on the pages of Reader's Digest. The hand of a soon-to-be-famous filmmaker is unmistakably felt in the screenplay. The title's meaning is "The Fatigued Ones".