With the Cannes Film Festival carrying on just down the road from where I am, I thought I would give you some images from the days when people were infinitely cooler than we will ever be. I got these from the LIFE website – check it out:

Bardot on the Beach

French actress Brigitte Bardot sits on the beach during the Cannes Film Festival in 1953. The festival was started in 1939 as a response to the way the fascist governments of Italy and Germany interefered with a film festival in Venice.

Brigitte Bardot

Grace Kelly Adores Boats

Grace Kelly poses dockside during the Cannes Film Festival on May 6, 1955. The first film festival was planned for September 1939. A little inconvenience called World War II nixed that idea.

Follow the link for Grace Kelly pic, as well as the rest of the “Classic Cannes” pics from LIFE. including the likes of Sophia Loren, Liza Minnelli, John Lennon, Merv Griffin, Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Brian Jones, Michael Caine, Hitchcock, Douglas, Novak and tons more!

Check out the rest of the gallery at the LIFE website.

[thanks ryan]