Finally getting hold of Studio Canal/Optimum World's excellent box set of auteur Henri-Georges Clouzot work,I discovered that along with 2 Clouzot movies that I've read a lot about,that there was a third Clouzot film that I've never heard of before!,which led to me deciding that it was time to take a glimpse at the unknown Clouzot.
The plot:
Catching everyone's attention on stage, Marguerite Chauffournier Martineau dreams of being a major star. Desperate to see her name in the bright lights, Marguerite starts getting very close to stage owner Georges Brignon.Less than happy with the advances his wife is making to Brignon, Maurice Martineau meets Brignon in public,and tells Brignon that if he sees him with Marguerite again,he will kill him.As the threat that Maurice made is left lingering in the air,Brignon is found brutally killed.Getting assigned the case,inspector Antoine soon discovers that Brignon was recently threatened with murder.
View on the film:
Returning to the champagne opened from his 1942 movie The Murderer Lives at Number 21,co-writer/(along with Jean Ferry) director Henri- Georges Clouzot and cinematographer Armand Thirard cloud the bright sparks of the past with the clouds of Film Noir.Going backstage,Clouzot gives the title a touch of old Hollywood glamour,by treating the Cabaret songs (!) and slap-stick antics with an elegant shine. Tearing away at the dazzle with Film Noir blades,Clouzot superbly aims for a stylish depth of field which pulls the darkness over the Lamour's into the limelight,which cracks the backdrop into dazzling shadows seeping Film Noir blood over the decadence.
Adapting Stanislas-André Steeman's (then) out of print book from memory (!) the screenplay by Clouzot & Ferry strikes the murder mystery with a brittle Film Noir edge. Firmly placing the Martineau's in a light and fluffy showbiz world,the writers brilliantly criss-cross the "caper" genre into Film Noir,by cleverly cracking the Martineau's "caper" mind set with short,sharp shots of Film Noir reality.Finishing on a Christmas final,the writers thankfully make the path a far from merry one,due to the snow by swept away by Antoine tents investigation shattering the Martineau's pristine image.
Enchanting everyone on stage, Suzy Delair gives a glorious performance as Femme Fatale Jenny Lamour,whose thirst for the bright lights Delair drinks up,with a delicacy to keep everyone else coiled round Jenny's fingers,which is displayed by Delair keeping Jenny fixated on the lights,even as Brignon's blood bleeds across the stage.Trying to break the silence, Louis Jouvet gives a great performance as Antoine,thanks to Jouvet pilling Film Noir tension on Antoine's shoulders to make cracks appear in the Martineau's icy relationship.Cast out into the wilderness, Bernard Blier gives an amazing performance as Maurice,who Blier locks into a pressure cooker of rage and doubt,as Maurice tries to keep Jenny in the limelight.
The plot:
Catching everyone's attention on stage, Marguerite Chauffournier Martineau dreams of being a major star. Desperate to see her name in the bright lights, Marguerite starts getting very close to stage owner Georges Brignon.Less than happy with the advances his wife is making to Brignon, Maurice Martineau meets Brignon in public,and tells Brignon that if he sees him with Marguerite again,he will kill him.As the threat that Maurice made is left lingering in the air,Brignon is found brutally killed.Getting assigned the case,inspector Antoine soon discovers that Brignon was recently threatened with murder.
View on the film:
Returning to the champagne opened from his 1942 movie The Murderer Lives at Number 21,co-writer/(along with Jean Ferry) director Henri- Georges Clouzot and cinematographer Armand Thirard cloud the bright sparks of the past with the clouds of Film Noir.Going backstage,Clouzot gives the title a touch of old Hollywood glamour,by treating the Cabaret songs (!) and slap-stick antics with an elegant shine. Tearing away at the dazzle with Film Noir blades,Clouzot superbly aims for a stylish depth of field which pulls the darkness over the Lamour's into the limelight,which cracks the backdrop into dazzling shadows seeping Film Noir blood over the decadence.
Adapting Stanislas-André Steeman's (then) out of print book from memory (!) the screenplay by Clouzot & Ferry strikes the murder mystery with a brittle Film Noir edge. Firmly placing the Martineau's in a light and fluffy showbiz world,the writers brilliantly criss-cross the "caper" genre into Film Noir,by cleverly cracking the Martineau's "caper" mind set with short,sharp shots of Film Noir reality.Finishing on a Christmas final,the writers thankfully make the path a far from merry one,due to the snow by swept away by Antoine tents investigation shattering the Martineau's pristine image.
Enchanting everyone on stage, Suzy Delair gives a glorious performance as Femme Fatale Jenny Lamour,whose thirst for the bright lights Delair drinks up,with a delicacy to keep everyone else coiled round Jenny's fingers,which is displayed by Delair keeping Jenny fixated on the lights,even as Brignon's blood bleeds across the stage.Trying to break the silence, Louis Jouvet gives a great performance as Antoine,thanks to Jouvet pilling Film Noir tension on Antoine's shoulders to make cracks appear in the Martineau's icy relationship.Cast out into the wilderness, Bernard Blier gives an amazing performance as Maurice,who Blier locks into a pressure cooker of rage and doubt,as Maurice tries to keep Jenny in the limelight.