La Chambre ardente (1962) - film review

Mathias Desgrez is a sick man who lives alone in his castle in the Black Forest, attended to by his personal nurse Myra Schneider.  He asks his two nephews, Marc and Stéphane, to spend the summer with him.  These two are surprised when they learn that the journalist Michel Boissard and his wife Marie have also been invited.  Mathias is the last descendant of the policeman who arrested the Marquise de Brinvilliers, who was responsible for many cases of poisoning during the reign of Louis XIV.  Marie was invited by Mathias because she is the last descendent of the Brinvilliers family.  One night, whilst a masked ball is in full swing, Mathias is killed.  According to the housekeeper, Madame Henderson, he was poisoned – by a woman wearing 17th Century apparel...
© Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium)

Another victim of the French Nouvelle Vague was the distinguished film director Julien Duvivier.  Admittedly, some of his best work (from between 1935 and 1960) was behind him.  Nevertheless, in the sixties his cinematic and narrative skills did not desert him in films such as Boulevard, Le Diable et les dix commandements and Chair de poule.  La Chambre ardente is no exception to the rule.  First seen in Paris on the 30th March 1962, this Franco-German production is adapted by Duvivier and Charles Spaak from a book written in 1937 by the American writer John Dickson Carr.

The French cast is made up of such distinguished performers as Jean-Claude Brialy, Claude Rich and Edith Scob (Georges Franju’s muse in Les Yeux sans visage and Judex).  On the German side, the parts were offered to Austrian actrice Nadja Tiller (seen in movies with Jean Gabin, Robert Hossein, Pierre Brasseur, Jean Marais and Jean-Paul Belmondo) and actor/husband Walter Giller.  If the rest of the crew is well-suited for this polished and attractive Gothic drama, the film has a few weaknesses due to its mix of rational and supernatural elements.  On the other hand, the film’s impeccable construction, some crisp dialogue and several atmospheric scenes (such as the murder and the funeral) are to its credit.  If the film’s conclusion is open-ended, one can say that it stays true to the spirit of John Dickson Carr’s work.  Finally, the title refers to a court in the 17th century where famous poisoners such as la Brinvilliers and la Voisin were interrogated and tortured.  This 3 star film has been available on DVD since January 2012.

© Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium) 2012

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