Mauvaise Graine

Mauvaise Graine (English: Bad Seed) is a 1934 French action comedy directed by Billy Wilder (in his directorial debut) and Alexander Esway. The screenplay by Wilder, Jan Lustig, Max Colpet, and Claude-André Puget focuses on a wealthy young playboy who becomes involved with a gang of car thieves. Although Wilder and Esway shared the directing credit, in later years leading lady Danielle Darrieux recalled Esway had been involved with the project in some capacity but clearly remembered she had never seen him on the set. It was remade in Britain in 1936 as the film The First Offence starring John Mills and Lilli Palmer. It was later remade in France as the 1950 film The Unexpected Voyager.