Summary
One day, Camille Morestan, owner of a bicycle shop, finds himself juryman in the trial
of a young woman, Nathalie, who is accused of murdering her lover. Moved by Nathalie’s
story, Camille manages to convince his fellow jurymen of her innocence and she is acquitted.
With nowhere to go, Nathalie accepts Camille’s kind offer of a room in his house and a
job in his shop. Only Camille’s son, Claude, knows that Nathalie was tried for murder,
but he falls madly in love with her. Meanwhile, one of the jurymen continues
to harangue Camille, insisting that Nathalie is a bad woman with a dangerous past.
Is history about to repeat itself…?
Review
This atmospheric drama from director Marc Allégret effectively marked the start
of a distinguished film career for actress Michèle Morgan. Here, the 17 year-old
actress stars alongside that giant of stage and screen, Raimu, an actor who is renowned
for playing complex yet down-to-earth characters with conviction and great emotional intensity.
The on-screen rapport between the two actors is the most striking thing about this film,
conveying, on the surface a father-daughter tenderness, yet subtly hinting at something
much darker, much more destructive.
The film’s use of light and shade and cluttered sets evokes a sense of morbid claustrophobia and mounting paranoia, propelling us inexorably towards the film’s shocking climax. The lengthy trial sequence at the start of the film is admittedly a turn off, but this is more than made up for by what follows.
"Gribouille" is a slang term for someone (such as the central character in this film) who has a tendency for getting into a muddle and ends up running head first towards disaster to avoid a minor difficulty. (In most countries, such people are known as "politicians".)
In 1940, the film was remade in Hollywood as The Lady in Question, directed by Charles Vidor, and starring Brian Aherne and Rita Hayworth.
© James Travers 2006
Write a review for this film...
The film’s use of light and shade and cluttered sets evokes a sense of morbid claustrophobia and mounting paranoia, propelling us inexorably towards the film’s shocking climax. The lengthy trial sequence at the start of the film is admittedly a turn off, but this is more than made up for by what follows.
"Gribouille" is a slang term for someone (such as the central character in this film) who has a tendency for getting into a muddle and ends up running head first towards disaster to avoid a minor difficulty. (In most countries, such people are known as "politicians".)
In 1940, the film was remade in Hollywood as The Lady in Question, directed by Charles Vidor, and starring Brian Aherne and Rita Hayworth.
© James Travers 2006
Write a review for this film...
User Comments
Useful links
- Best French films of 2011
- Best French films of the 2000s
- Best of the French New Wave
- Best of French film comedy
- The best 100 French films
- The most successful French films
- Great French filmmakers
Related links
- The best French dramas
- Other French films of the 1930s
- The best French films of the 1930s
- Other French dramas
- Biography and films of Marc Allégret
To buy this film
Check DVD and Blu-ray availability:
Credits
- Director: Marc Allégret
- Script: Marcel Achard, H.G. Lustig
- Photo: Georges Benoît, Michel Kelber, Armand Thirard
- Music: Georges Auric
- Cast: Raimu (Camille Morestan), Michèle Morgan (Natalie Roguin), Gilbert Gil (Claude Morestan), Jean Worms (Le président), Julien Carette (Lurette), Marcel André (L’avocat général), Jacques Grétillat (L’avocat de la défense), Jacques Baumer (Marinier), Andrex (Robert), René Bergeron (Kuhlmann), Jeanne Provost (Louise Morestan), André Siméon (Guérin), Jacqueline Pacaud (Françoise Morestan), Jenny Carol (La jeune fille au tandem), Oléo (Henriette Clovisse), Pauline Carton (L’autre Nathalie Roguin), Lyne Clevers (Claudette Morel), Bernard Blier (Le jeune homme au tandem), Roger Caccia (Le client)
- Country: France
- Language: French
- Runtime: 85 min; B&W
- Aka: Heart of Paris
Similar films
If you like this film you may also like the following:- Le Capitaine Fracasse (1929)
- Crime et châtiment (1935)
- Les Croix de bois (1932)
- Dans la nuit (1929)
- Les Deux orphelines (1933)
- L’Équipage (1935)
- La Fille de l’eau (1925)
- J’accuse! (1938)
- Les Jeux sont faits (1947)
- Journal d’un curé de campagne (1951)
- Lola Montès (1955)
- Lumière d’été (1943)
- Marianne de ma jeunesse (1955)
- La Marie du port (1949)
To buy Gribouille:

Drama






