Irma la Douce is a 1963 romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder. The movie is based on the 1956 French stage musical, which was also made into a movie in 1961. The story takes place in the Montmartre district of Paris and follows the story of a naive and inexperienced policeman named Nestor Patou, played by Jack Lemmon.
Nestor becomes enamored with a beautiful and carefree sex worker named Irma la Douce, played by Shirley MacLaine. He quickly falls in love with her and decides to resign from the police force so that he can follow her and keep her out of trouble. Nestor takes on the persona of a wealthy Englishman named Lord X, who becomes Irma's only client.
The two fall deeply in love, but their happiness is threatened when Nestor discovers that Irma is seeing other clients. Out of jealousy, he decides to take action and creates a scheme to rid her of all other customers by masquerading as a wealthy businessman. However, his plan backfires when Irma falls in love with his invented identity and begins to push away the real Nestor.
Throughout the film, there is a great deal of humor and lightheartedness, along with a few dark moments. The chemistry between Lemmon and MacLaine is remarkable and their performances were highly praised. The movie was a commercial success and was nominated for three Academy Awards.