L’Aventure est au coin de la rue (1944) - film review

A wealthy young man, Pierre Trévoux, is tired of his dull life and yearns for adventure.  After spending an evening in a night-club where is inspired by the singer Adria-Adria, he gets the better of a pickpocket, Roulet, forcing him to give him his ill-gotten gains for that evening. These include a woman’s purse containing an ornamental locket.   A few days later, Trévoux’s house is raided and his collection of miniatures stolen.  At the time, Trévoux is staying with friends at their country house, where he is the victim of an elaborate charade.  Returning home to his ransacked house, Trévoux is convinced that his friends are continuing their game, and he resolves to get his own back.  Unfortunately, he fails to realise that he has become the target of a band of dangerous criminals who are determined to recover the stolen locket that he still has in his possession…

Aventure est au coin de la rue is a spirited comedy which attempts to blend gangster thriller and drawing room farce, with some success.  Claude Renoir’s photography gives the film a touch of classic film noir which adds a quality dimension to what would otherwise be regarded as a pretty ordinary mid-1940s comedy.

The comedy thriller was a fairly unusual genre at the time this film was made, which perhaps accounts for the over-the-top acting and Keystone Kops style fight scenes.  Over the following decade, films of this genre would become much more subtle, relying much more on wordplay than slapstick.  Even so, the film is an interesting early example of the genre, and overall is an entertaining work with some brilliant comic scenes – the best example being when Pierre returns home to find all his servants trussed up and hanging from the ceiling – a far more original idea than just having them all coshed or shot.

The film stars Raymond Rouleau, a French film heartthrob of the 1940s, who is perhaps best known today for his leading role in Jacques Becker’s classic melodrama Falbalas.  Rouleau shows his versatility in this film, where his role is a mix of traditional romantic lead and comic straight man.  Here he shares the limelight with not one but two beautiful femmes fatales, Michèle Alfa and Suzy Carrier, although neither actress really has the opportunity to shine in this film.

© James Travers 2001

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