It's hard to dislike any performance by French cinema heartthrob Jean Gabin. But the movie itself is somewhat predictable until its highly unlikely final frame.
Here Gabin plays a legionnaire who's usually the one in control in male-female interactions. That dynamic gets upended when he meets Madeleine (Mireille Balin), who plays the man-slayer over and over till he snaps.
Lucien isn't a stupid guy, but he acts that way around the vamp, casually tossing her his 10,000-franc legacy and refusing a pay-back: "Je m'en fous de ton cheque!"
Lucien IS consistent -- ain't too bright of him to resort to violence, condemning himself to a walking version of his victim's fate.
I'll admit this movie's OK at showing the thin line between obsessive love and hatred, a timeless theme in art and life.
Here Gabin plays a legionnaire who's usually the one in control in male-female interactions. That dynamic gets upended when he meets Madeleine (Mireille Balin), who plays the man-slayer over and over till he snaps.
Lucien isn't a stupid guy, but he acts that way around the vamp, casually tossing her his 10,000-franc legacy and refusing a pay-back: "Je m'en fous de ton cheque!"
Lucien IS consistent -- ain't too bright of him to resort to violence, condemning himself to a walking version of his victim's fate.
I'll admit this movie's OK at showing the thin line between obsessive love and hatred, a timeless theme in art and life.