Summaries

Synopsis

In eighteenth century Paris, France, the daughter of the aristocratic de Vaudreys marries a commoner and has his baby, but her family kills her husband and snatches the infant from her arms. She scribbles a note-"Her name is Louise, Save her"-on a piece of paper and tucks it into the baby's locket. Wrapped in a blanket, along with a bag of coins, the infant is placed on the snowy "foundling steps" of Notre Dame cathedral. Soon afterward, an impoverished man named Jean Girard brings his own infant, Henriette, to the steps, but seeing the trembling Louise lying there, he has second thoughts, gathers both babies in his arms, and carries them home. He and his wife are overjoyed to find the bag of coins, and opening the locket, they learn the baby's name. The two infants, Louise and Henriette, grow up together as sisters outside of Paris. Meanwhile, Louise's birth mother is forced to marry the Count de Linieres, Paris's powerful Prefect of Police, who knows nothing of her past. Living at the de Vaudrey estate in 1789, the count and countess are visited by one of the tenants, Jean Setain. He is also known as "Jacques-Forget-Not," because as a young man he saw the de Vaudrey patriarch torture his father, as the young Chevalier de Vaudrey watched approvingly, and he will never forget, nor forgive. The count refuses to relieve Jacques of his debt, and the peasant leaves in anger. Meanwhile, the Duc D'Orleans, cousin of King Louis XVI, entertains political dissidents in the gardens of the Royal Palace. Among them is Danton, a struggling lawyer, who meets U.S. Ambassador Thomas Jefferson and tells him the American Congress is "the kind of government we want here." Later, as he watches pampered aristocrats ignore hungry peasants in front of a bakery, the indignant Danton is surprised to see the Chevalier de Vaudrey pass out baguettes. Danton nods approval and shakes the young chevalier's hand. Elsewhere, the plague has orphaned the two sisters, and left Louise blind. Henriette wants to look for a cure in Paris, but Louise fears separation. She makes Henriette swear never to marry until she retains her eyesight and approves of the groom. In a market near Paris's Pont Neuf, Mother Frochard, known as "La Fevehard," and her sons, Pierre and Jacques, beg in the streets. She and Jacques beat Pierre for failing to bring in sufficient earnings. Outside Paris, the coach carrying Henriette and Louise breaks down, blocking the carriage of the Marquis de Praille. As the coach is repaired, the middle-aged marquis is drawn to the beautiful Henriette. She resists his advances, but "naively confides" hat she and Louise are to be met by a family friend, Monsieur Martin, at the Paris coach house. As the marquis rides ahead into Paris, he tells his minion, La Fleur, to abduct Henriette and bring her to his palace fete later that night. La Fleur befriends Monsieur Martin at the coach house, and informs him the coach will be late. Offering Martin a glass of spirits, La Fleur pours a potion into the cup that knocks him unconscious. The sisters arrive and wait until nightfall. La Fleur and two men abduct Henriette, leaving Louise to stumble blindly, calling out for her sister. At the Marquis de Praille's palace, aristocrats feast, while dozens of peasants gather outside the gate, hoping for table scraps. The Chevalier de Vaudrey arrives, and tells the marquis, with a wink, that they should enjoy their privileges now, because not much time is left. Meanwhile, the sightless Louise nearly tumbles into the Seine River, near Pont Neuf, but is saved by Pierre Frochard. He wants to protect her, but his mother pushes him aside and, when Louise confesses she has no friends, claims she will take care of her. Over Pierre's objections, Mother Frochard takes Louise to their basement hovel. When Louise refuses to beg for her, she is confined to the cellar. Back at the palace, the Marquis de Praille's servants bring a divan, carrying the sleeping Henriette. Awakening, she asks for Louise, but the revelers ignore her pleas. At first, the Chevalier de Vaudrey thinks the young woman is part of the evening's amusements, but when she calls for "a man of honor," he realizes her plight and rescues her. The marquis challenges him to a duel, but the chevalier wounds the older man and leaves with Henriette. He takes her to a lodging house and pays for her room. As the chevalier leaves, he cannot stop himself from kissing her, and apologizes, but realizes he is smitten. In the morning, Count de Linieres is outraged by the news of his nephew's duel with the Marquis de Praille, and orders Picard, the chevalier's valet and friend, to keep an eye on him. Henriette awakens and searches the streets for Louise. Elsewhere, Louise agrees to beg for Mother Frochard, hoping Henriette will find her. Count de Linieres refuses the chevalier's request to involve the police in Louise's disappearance, and berates him for getting involved with "common people." Later, the count visits King Louis XVI and arranges a wedding between his nephew and a noblewoman, but when he informs the Chevalier de Vaudrey of his upcoming nuptials, the young man refuses, because he is in love with Henriette. Elsewhere, Danton and his fellow penniless lawyer, Maximilien Robespierre, who lives in Henriette's boarding house, see her talking with people on the street, and Danton recognizes her as the girl who has been searching for her lost sister. Danton is incensed by her mistreatment at the hand of aristocrats, but Robespierre warns against his interest in the young woman. Later, Danton encourages revolution to people in the street. Several royalists are alarmed, and wound him during a sword fight. Danton rushes to Robespierre's lodgings and, by coincidence, ducks through Henriette's open door. She saves him by pointing the pursuing royalists to another floor. Henriette insists on bandaging Danton's wound and allowing him to stay the night. In the morning, Robespierre suspects Danton is inside Henriette's room and tries to push his way in, but she slams the door in his face. He hides until he sees Danton leave. Outside Notre Dame, a doctor from La Force notices Louise begging and tells Mother Frochard to bring the girl to him, as her blindness may be curable. However, Frochard tells Louise her blindness is hopeless, and takes away her homemade shawl to make her tremble in the cold. Later, the chevalier returns to Henriette with no news of Louise, unaware that Picard is following him. The chevalier offers Henriette a betrothal ring, but she refuses, even though she loves him, because the marriage would ruin him socially. Besides, she must find Louise for her approval. Meanwhile, Countess de Linieres leaves Notre Dame, as her estranged daughter, Louise, begs for alms. The countess is stirred by a strange sympathy for the blind girl, but Frochard pulls the girl away, claiming her as her own. Giving money to Louise, the countess returns home, and her nephew, the chevalier, requests that she visit the young woman he has chosen for his wife. As she leaves, her husband, the count, with the authority of Prefect of Police, commands the chevalier to agree to his arranged royal marriage or be exiled to a "fortress prison." When the young man refuses, soldiers take him away. At Henriette's boarding house, the countess tells the girl that marriage to the chevalier is impossible. She sees a pillow with Louise's name embroidered on it, and mentions that the name is dear to her. Henriette promises that if the countess finds Louise, she will follow her wishes. She describes how Louise is really not her sister, but rather a foundling. As Henriette displays the locket, the countess realizes that Louise is her child. At that moment, Henriette hears beggars on the street, recognizes the singing voice, and goes to the balcony. She is overjoyed to see Louise, but before she can run downstairs, Count de Linieres arrives with soldiers and arrests her. Frochard rushes Louise away and returns her to the cellar. Henriette is taken to the Catholic "House of Fallen Women." The chevalier is locked in a prison outside of Paris. Meanwhile, peasants prepare for revolution. Henriette tells the mother superior about her blind sister, whom the attending doctor recalls seeing with the beggar Frochard near her home on Rue de Brissac. At the de Vaudrey estate, the countess confesses her past sins to her forgiving husband. Jacques-Forget-Not and his men shout "Death to tyrants" and "Down with the Bastille," and the silver-tongued Danton convinces soldiers to join them. As war rages, Danton opens the House of Fallen Women, allowing the chevalier's valet, Picard, to find Henriette and deliver her lover's message. Aristocrats are rounded up and killed, prompting the count and countess to flee before Jacques-Forget-Not arrives for vengeance. Going to Frochard to demand her sister's freedom, Henriette sees the woman wearing Louise's shawl, but the hag tells her the girl died and sends her away. When Jacques-Frochard claims Louise for himself, brother Pierre engages him in a knife fight, wounds him, and escapes with Louise. With the defeat of the monarchy, Robespierre becomes the head of the deadly Committee of Public Safety, which condemns aristocrats and their protectors to the guillotine. One of the new judges is Jacques-Forget-Not. Despite the carnage, the Chevalier de Vaudrey returns to Paris in peasant garb, and is spotted by Jacques-Forget-Not. As the chevalier and Henriette embrace, Jacques' men arrest them. The couple is condemned to the guillotine. Henriette sees Louise sitting with Pierre and calls to her, but she is carried away on a death cart. Pierre and Louise follow on foot. Danton asks for a hearing and delivers an oratory about compassion, earning a pardon for the prisoners. He rides with his men to the guillotine, where Henriette is being led up the stairs. Pierre Frochard runs onto the gallows with a knife and stops the executioner long enough for Danton and his men to arrive with the pardon. Pierre and the chevalier are also set free. The sisters kiss and embrace, and Danton, disregarding his own feelings toward Henriette, turns her over to the chevalier. Sanity returns to French society. When the doctor restores Louise's sight, she marries Pierre and blesses Henriette's marriage to the chevalier. The Countess de Linieres reunites with her daughter.