Cet homme est dangereux (1953) - film review

On the run from international police, Special Agent Lemmy Caution arrives in the South of France and soon become embroiled in a scheme with the infamous gangster Siegella.  Whilst seeming to co-operate with the underworld boss, Lemmy is secretly acting for the FBI, and intends using Miranda Van Zelden, a wealthy heiress, as bait to trap a gang of crooks and put an end to Siegella’s exploits…

The enormous success of La Môme vert-de-gris (1953) made Lemmy Caution’s return to the big screen inevitable.   Sure enough, within a matter of months, Eddie Constantine reprised the role of the famous FBI agent in this, the second of what was to be a greatly loved series of French films over the following decade.   The films were adaptations of best selling thriller crime novels by Peter Cheyney and came at a time when American culture was well-received, if not adulated, by the French populace.  

For all its success at the time, Cet homme est dangereux is a pretty mediocre example of its genre – an overly complex plot, cardboard cutout characters and some pretty complacent direction (although the film noir style works in the film’s favour.).  The success of this film, and the others in the Lemmy Caution series, was almost certainly down to its lead actor – Eddie Constantine.  Here was the absolute personification (at least in the eyes of a French man or woman at that time) of an American hard man, oozing charm, sex appeal and machismo in every sinew of his being, yet one who spoke French fluently, albeit with a “slight” American accent.

© James Travers 2006

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