This is, in short, a revelation. I knew Charles Vanel as a prolific actor in French films who was also fortunate enough to appear in exceptional fare such as La Salaire de la peur, Les Diaboliques and who gave arguably his finest performance in Le Ciel est a vous but back in 1929 he wrote, directed, and starred in this very fine film and the first impression is one of regret that, with the exception of a single short, he never repeated the experiment. For the time his framing is excellent as is his eye for striking angles and he and his Russian-born co-star effortlessly transgress the melodramatic elements in the story of a young couple whose happiness is put in jeopardy when the husband, a quarry worker, suffers an accident that leaves him horribly disfigured. Perhaps understandably for the time Vanel contrives a happy ending but he is to be applauded on all three fronts, writing, directing and acting and movie buffs should seek this one out.
Review of Dans la nuit
