Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu (1973) - film review

Once again, Boussard is expected to win the coming mayoral elections with a handsome majority.  One man who isn’t pleased by this prospect is Dr Peyrac, who is so disgusted by Boussard and his shady activities that he decides to run against him.  For once, Boussard is anxious and sees the impeccable Dr Peyrac as a serious challenger, so he asks his secretary, Morlaix, to come to his aid.  The latter discovers that Peyrac’s wife, Sylvie, is on friendly terms with Olga Leroy, a woman who is reputed to organise wild orgies for the well off.  This is just the information Boussard needs to destroy his rival...
© Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium)

Two years after the huge success of Mourir d’aimer, ex-lawyer and French film director André Cayatte made Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu (a.k.a. Where There’s Smoke).  Once again, it is a justice-themed movie, this time based on a real-life event which reveals the mean political machinery operating at the scale of a town.  The film was a popular success and, along with other political thrillers, was very trendy in the 1970s.  Many reputable directors made films in this neo-polar genre: Yves Boisset with Le Juge Fayard dit le Sheriff; Marcel Carné with Les Assassins de l’ordre, Pierre Granier-Deferre with Adieu poulet; the list is endless.

When the film was first released, some critics hostile to Cayatte’s work found the screenplay implausible but admitted that the film was an attractive and entertaining thriller with never a dull moment.  There is no need to pass judgement on the acting talent of the leading star Annie Girardot.  Nicknamed the middle-class idol after the film, she became Cayatte’s main actress and starred in another three of his movies in this genre: the aforementioned Mourir d’aimer; À chacun son enfer; and L’Amour en question.   The superb supporting cast contribute as much to the film’s credibility as Girardot.  This includes: Bernard Fresson (Girardot’s off-screen partner); an impeccable Mireille Darc (Georges Lautner’s muse); the film and theatre giant Michel Bouquet; and Mathieu Carrière, who later appeared with Yves Montand in Alain Corneau’s Police python 357.  Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu was entered in the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear special jury prize.

© Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium) 2012

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