Adult Film Locations – Part 16: ‘Therese and Isabelle’ (1968)

If you feel like a trip to Paris – and want to see the locations where Radley Metzger‘s Therese and Isabelle was shot in 1967 – then The Rialto Report has you covered.

But how many of those locations have survived intact… 55 years after the film was made?

The answer is remarkable: our detective work revealed that every filming site is still there, all virtually unchanged since Radley and his locally-hired cast and crew shot the film.

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Therese and Isabelle – Then and Now

1. Royaumont Abbey

The majority of the film was shot at Royaumont Abbey, a former Cistercian abbey, located near Asnières-sur-Oise in Val-d’Oise, approximately 30 km north of Paris, France.

The abbey was built between 1228 and 1235 with the support of Louis IX, and several members of the French Royal family are buried here, including Louis IX’s three children and two grandchildren. The thirteenth century encyclopedist Vincent of Beauvais was a brother at the Abbey as well. The abbey was dissolved in 1791 during the French Revolution and the stones were partly used to build a factory. However, the sacristy, cloister, and refectory remain intact.

In the early 20th century, the abbey was bought by the Goüin family who in 1964 created the Royaumont Foundation, the first private French cultural foundation. Four years after Radley shot Therese and Isabelle’, Pink Floyd performed a private concert there.

Today, the abbey is a tourist attraction and also serves as a cultural center.

Front Gate:

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Abbey Approach:

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Sadly the iconic bench has been removed…

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Staircase:

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Classroom:

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Cloisters:

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Pink Floyd (and Jeanne Moreau) at the Abbey, 1971

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Dining Room:

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Chapel:

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Pink Floyd in the chapel at the Abbey

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Cycling:

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Paris – Restaurant:

Radley used the Le Pré Catelan restaurant for the scene where Therese meets her mother and step-father.

The restaurant is located in the heart of the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The origin of the name ‘Pré Catelan’ comes from the captain of the hunts of Louis XIV, Théophile Catelan, though a legend also attributes the name to a troubadour, Arnault Catelan, who lost his life there .

Opened in 1856, Le Pré Catelan quickly became a resounding success, In 1905, the architect Guillaume Tronchet built a luxury casino-restaurant at Pré Catelan, inspired by the follies of the 18th century. The restaurant was taken over in 1908 by another Parisian restaurateur, Léopold Mourier, owner of Fouquet’s (incidentally, Jamie Gillis‘ favorite brasserie in Paris), who made it one of the most popular places in Paris.

It is currently a three-starred Michelin restaurant.

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Cycling Park:

Therese and Isabelle cycle away from the abbey to the Parc de Saint-Cloud, officially the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, on the out-skirts of Paris.

The park, which covers 460 hectares (1,100 acres), was a nature reserve until 1923. It is considered one of the most beautiful gardens in Europe, and in 2005 the park was awarded Notable Garden status. On November 9, 1994 the park was classified as a Historic Monument.

The park is located on the site of the Château de Saint-Cloud, a residence of royal and imperial families from the 16th century. After Napoleon III declared war on the Prussians, the site was occupied by a Prussian force which used the high outcropping to shell Paris. Counter-fire from the French caused the building to burn on October 13, 1870. The structure was completely razed in August 1892.

The park contains a Le Nôtre-designed garden in the French style, an English garden, Marie Antoinette’s rose garden, and showcases a panoramic view of Paris called ‘La Lanterne’.

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Paris – Bridge:

Therese and Isabelle meet two musicians while wandering by the Seine river. This was filmed by the Pont Notre-Dame, the second oldest bridge in Paris, dating back to pre-Roman days when Paris, then Lutitia, was based on Île de la Cité. The current incarnation was opened in 1919.

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Paris – Hotel:

The scene where Therese and Isabelle check into a hotel was filmed at an actual hotel – the Hotel Du Mont Blanc in 1967 – situated at 51 Rue Lauriston in Paris, just behind the Arc de Triomphe.

Nowadays it is the Le Belgrand Hotel.

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Radley

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