Obsession (1954)

Obsession is a French-Italian thriller film first released in 1954, directed by Jean Delannoy.  The film stars Michèle Morgan, Raf Vallone, Marthe Mercadier, Jean Gaven and Albert Duvaleix.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


Hélène and Aldo Giovanni are a couple who form a popular circus trapeze double act.  When Aldo is injured, he is replaced temporarily by Alexandre, a former partner.  Jealous, Aldo gets into a fight with Alexandre and, the following day, the latter is found dead, having been shot.  A witness to the fight, Hélène suspects her husband of the murder.  Her fears are confirmed when she finds a revolver amongst Aldo’s luggage.  Then the husband of a close friend is arrested and accused of Alexandre’s murder…  Should Hélène denounce her husband to save an innocent man from the scaffold?

Obssession is a wonderfully tense psychological drama that has the feel of a Hitchcock thriller.
With some evocative (albeit slightly over-used) music from Paul Misraki, very atmospheric photography and fine acting, Delannoy manages to create a marvellously tense drama which keeps us guessing right to the very last shot.

Delannoy is well served by his cast, particularly the superlative Michèle Morgan.  She conveys the impossible dilemma of her character’s situation magnificently – to the point that we really expect her to have a seizure during the tense courtroom scene.  Often dialogue is superfluous – we can read her character’s thoughts from the slightest gesture or most subtle of facial expressions.  Also, she appears genuinely expert in the trapeze scenes and there is a genuine chemistry between her and her co-star, the Italian actor Raf Vallone.  Little wonder that this great acting talent was Delannoy’s favourite leading lady.  In this film, she is very capably supported (literally) by Vallone (who, it is reported, suffered from vertigo).

Although this was Jean Delannoy’s first film in colour, the director uses the new medium to great effect, and some of his more experimental ideas (such as illuminating the courtroom like a circus arena) work very well indeed.  One wonders why he reverted to black and white for some of his subsequent films.

Whilst lacking the depth and true emotional impact of Delannoy’s earlier masterpieces, this is nonetheless a compulsive and entertaining film that is well worth seeing.

© James Travers 2001

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