Moguy was not a great director, and despite his ' old fashioned ' feel to his films he could sometimes give a hard smack to the rules of society. This film called ' The Width of the Pavement ' in the UK and bearing an ' X ' certificate ( this is on the BBFC site ) was a second feature and was considered sensationalist. In fact it was a sober, if melodromatic account of how through no fault of her own and rejected by society because of her poverty a 17 year old girl gets entangled into prostitution. Danik Patisson plays her well and is very beautiful, and her situation is believable as a woman who falls into the lack of money trap. She lives after her grandmother's death with the help of a social worker, played superbly by the great Anne Vernon, with an awful family, and they make life hell for her simply because she is not in their social class. The poor as far as they are concerned can go to hell, and she almost does. I will give no other spoilers but simply to say it is hard to find, but can be if searched long enough and deserves to be seen. There is a cameo performance by Francoise Rosay ( one of the best actors in French cinema and legendary ) that takes the breath away and sums up the spirit of social deprivation in one painful scene. The film moves at a fast pace and is never boring, and those in search of lurid exploitation go to another film. Moguy should not be so ignored ( as he is ) by todays film distributors and his films should be more available.
2 Reviews
A welfare officer's work is never done.
dbdumonteil8 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Now completely forgotten ,Russian born Leonide Maguy always displayed social concern.In the thirties ,his "Prison Sans Barreaux" showed a new approach to the burning "reforming school for girls" for girls;"Domano E Troppo Tardi was a heartfelt plea for sex education;"Les Enfants De L'Amour took place in a home for unwed moms and featured a good doctor(Jean-Claude Pascal) ,who resembled Dr André in this movie."Donnez -Moi Ma Chance" warned the clueless girls against the lure of movie stardom.
People who saw "Prisons Sans Barreaux " will notice the similarities of its ending and that of "Le Long Des Trottoirs":in both movies, a noble lady sacrifices her love to her work and reneges on her fiance's love who fell for her protegee .
In spite of the social concerns,the movie is first a melodrama which conveys all the clichés of the genre :the movie could have been made in the thirties,and in the fifties, is to be ranked among Maurice Cloche's efforts (not counting the "spiritual" side,in spite of the good nuns ' help)
All the clichés of the melodrama are here:a poor orphan ,who has just lost her dear grandma ,is welcomed by a devoted social worker ,but her bourgeois family is not prepared to accept it:turned out from the desirable mansion,then from her work as a cashier,she falls into a pimp's hands who makes her a hostess in the "blue moon" nightclub ,then a streetwalker...fortunately she's arrested and the welfare worker and her dear doctor give her a decent work:she becomes a medical secretary...maybe too efficient...
Anne Vernon is the stand -out: one of Becker's favorite actresses,she succeeds in transcending a plain part ;her beaming smile illuminates the movie;Danik Patisson ,who was 17 (her character's age ) is gorgeous but never became a star.Françoise Rosay ,the most famous name in the movie,has only one scene but the great thespian makes us feel her humiliation and her tiredness ('It's the first time I have begged in my life" );on the other hand ,both actors who play Vernon's brother and sister give awful performances .
Like the other Moguy films I mention ,this is old-fashioned stuff, but which might possess appeal for fans of melodramas.
People who saw "Prisons Sans Barreaux " will notice the similarities of its ending and that of "Le Long Des Trottoirs":in both movies, a noble lady sacrifices her love to her work and reneges on her fiance's love who fell for her protegee .
In spite of the social concerns,the movie is first a melodrama which conveys all the clichés of the genre :the movie could have been made in the thirties,and in the fifties, is to be ranked among Maurice Cloche's efforts (not counting the "spiritual" side,in spite of the good nuns ' help)
All the clichés of the melodrama are here:a poor orphan ,who has just lost her dear grandma ,is welcomed by a devoted social worker ,but her bourgeois family is not prepared to accept it:turned out from the desirable mansion,then from her work as a cashier,she falls into a pimp's hands who makes her a hostess in the "blue moon" nightclub ,then a streetwalker...fortunately she's arrested and the welfare worker and her dear doctor give her a decent work:she becomes a medical secretary...maybe too efficient...
Anne Vernon is the stand -out: one of Becker's favorite actresses,she succeeds in transcending a plain part ;her beaming smile illuminates the movie;Danik Patisson ,who was 17 (her character's age ) is gorgeous but never became a star.Françoise Rosay ,the most famous name in the movie,has only one scene but the great thespian makes us feel her humiliation and her tiredness ('It's the first time I have begged in my life" );on the other hand ,both actors who play Vernon's brother and sister give awful performances .
Like the other Moguy films I mention ,this is old-fashioned stuff, but which might possess appeal for fans of melodramas.
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