Saturday, November 30

LE MEURTRIER aka ENOUGH ROPE (Claude Autant-Lara 1963) is an adaptation of “The Blunderer.” I have not read it, but the film is a twist on “Strangers on a Train.” Two men with seemingly no connection each want the spouse dead. In the opening scene, we see Kimmel (Gert Frobe) follow a bus that his wife is on, take her from the bus at a rest stop, stab her to death in a ravine, and drive away. Soon we see the other man, Saccard (Maurice Ronet), who wants a divorce so he can continue his affair (Marina Vlady, so one can somewhat understand), but his wife is uncooperative, follow a bus that his wife is on, look for her at a rest stop, and cannot find her as she appears to have faded into the night. Corby (Robert Hossein) investigates Saccard as a murderer even though he isn’t. Or, is he? Kimmel denies – in an incredibly over-the-top performance – having murdered his wife to Corby and tries to win Corby’s trust by providing false evidence on Saccard. And Corby is a sadist to both, especially to Kimmel in some scenes that are excruciating to watch. In the end, nobody wins…except, perhaps, Corby.

Often confusing, the narrative was not helped when the DCP gods again interfered and we watched the last twenty minutes or so after watching the second movie of the day. Not to worry…it was reminiscent of the days of yore when one walked into a double-feature at will. Not my favorite Hossein performance, but there is Vlady.

LE PIEGE aka NO ESCAPE (Charles Brabant 1958) pulls us back to more familiar film noir territory with hints of James M. Cain’s “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” which, after all, first found its way on the movie screen in France as LE DERNIER TOURNANT (Pierre Chenal 1939). A murderer, Gino (Raf Vallone), escapes from prison. Already the irony begins. He finds his way to an inn operated by an older man, Caille (Charles Vanel), and his daughter-in-law Cora (Magali Noel) named perhaps as a tip of the beret to Cain’s femme fatale. Caille lusts after Cora, surreptitiously gazing upon her as she dresses and undresses. And it is not merely the male gaze that he unleashes. Gino and Cora fall in love and plan their escape. But as experienced watchers of film noir, we know there is no escape. They are trapped. Unless, of course, one counts death as the way out.

Vallone and Noel are fiery, lighting and heating up the screen. The camera simply loves them as they smolder and reignite. And Vanel is as venal as a character can be. Maybe I’m becoming a traditionalist in my old age, but this is my favorite film thus far in this rendition of “The Franch Had A Name for It.”

Now for three starring Henri Vidal.

LA JEUNE FOLLE aka DESPERATE DECISION (Yves Allegret 1952) is set in Ireland in 1922 during the Revolution. Catherine (Daniele Delorme), a servant in a convent, decides to go to Dublin to see her brother whose life she fears is in jeopardy. When she learns of his death, she takes an oath to kill whoever killed her brother. She meets and falls in love with Steve (Henri Vidal). Eventually she learns who killed her brother. Noir being noir, we can figure out who that is and what will happen.

Yves Allegret has directed more of my favorite French films noirs – and possibly films noirs regardless of origin – than anyone else: DEDEE D’ANVERS (1948); UNE SI JOLIE PETITE PLAGE aka SUCH A PRETTY LITTLE BEACH (1949); MANEGES aka THE CHEAT (1949); and, LES ORGUEILLEUX aka THE PROUD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1953). This is not among those. It is, however, beautifully shot by Roger Hubert. His filmography includes: J’ACCUSE (Abel Gance 1938); LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS (Marcel Carne 1945); THERESE RAQUIN (Marcel Carne 1953); and, LES AMANTS DU TAGE (Henri Verneuil (1955).

QUAI DE GRENELLE aka THE STROLLERS (Emil E. Reinert 1950): Film noir Fate is front and center here. Jean-Louis (Henri Vidal) catches snakes in the country for test labs in the city. With a small crate of snakes on his shoulder, he meets his girlfriend, Simone (Francoise Arnoul), in the city. As they stroll, they cross a street outside of the crosswalk, which leads to an argument with a police officer, which leads to a comment that they may have been involved in a bank heist, which leads to passersby accusing them of being the robbers, which leads to Jean-Louis dropping the crate, which leads to the snakes escaping, which leads to mass confusion, which leads to Jean-Louis and Simone running away. One gets the sense that this may not turn out well.

A newspaper plays it all for a sensational angle. Simone dances with a snake in a club to support herself and tries to convince the newspaper of Jean-Louis’ innocence. Jean-Louis goes underground, befriends Mado (Maria Mauban), a prostitute, and her enigmatic older gentleman friend, Zance, who has a penchant for admiring and selling high-heeled shoes. All the while Jean-Louis becomes more paranoid. Perhaps dealing with vipers makes one a viper. Or, if the entire world consists of vipers, what choice does one innocent man have?

LA BETE A L’AFFUT aka THE BEAST AT BAY (Pierre Chenal 1959): Let deceit conquer! The proceeds of a benefit auction for policemen’s orphans, sponsored by Elisabeth Vermont (Francoise Arnoul reappearing), a beautiful young widow, are stolen. A prison warden and a prisoner on work release are killed at the warden’s home. Another prisoner on work release, Daniel Morane (Henri Vidal), is injured at the home. Knowing he’ll be blamed for the deaths, he runs and breaks into Elisabeth’s chateau to hide. When she discovers him, he explains that he is just a victim of circumstances, that he and the other prisoner were at the house to work for the warden’s wife, which was a cover for the affair she and the prisoner were having, that the warden discovered it, that there was a fight that resulted in the deaths and his own injury. Fate just dealt him, an innocent man soon to be released from prison, a bad hand. Elisabeth decides not only to hide him for the moment, but to tend to him through his recovery. As will happen, they fall in love and decide to run away together.

And every word that has come out of Morane’s mouth has been a lie. In a noir fashion he will meet his Fate…except what’s Fate got to do with it? This film is a wonderful example of a film noir where Fate is used as an excuse by a character to entrap others. Morane knew every step he wanted to take and consciously decided to take each step. He just thought the only consequences would fall in his favor. This, however, is noir. He should have known better.