|
|
|
Retour de manivelle
1957 Crime / Drama / Thriller
| |
Credits
-
Director: Denys de La Patellière
-
Script: Michel Audiard, Denys de La Patellière, based on a novel by James Hadley Chase
-
Photo: Pierre Montazel
-
Music: Maurice Thiriet
-
Cast: Michèle Morgan (Hélène
Fréminger),
Daniel Gélin (Robert),
Michèle Mercier (Jeanne),
François Chaumette (Charles Babin),
Pierre Leproux (M. Boot,
le créancier),
Jean Olivier (Un inspecteur),
Hélène Roussel (Une secrétaire),
Peter van Eyck (Eric Fréminger),
Bernard Blier (Insp. Plantavin),
Olivier Darrieux (Un inspecteur),
Lucien Frégis (Le gendarme)
-
Country: France
-
Language: French
-
Runtime: 118 min; B&W
-
Aka: There's Always a Price Tag; The Turn of the Handle
|
|
|
|
| |
Summary
Ruined by his business partner, Max Fréminger decides to commit suicide.
Before killing himself, Max tells his wife Hélène that she must somehow
hide the fact that his death was a suicide, otherwise she will be unable to claim his
insurance money. With the help of a newly hired chauffeur, Robert, Hélène
weaves an elaborate scheme to make it appear that her husband was murdered by one of his
enemies. Key to the success of the plan is the hiring of a maid, Jeanne. Not
only will she provide all the right alibis, but she will confirm that Max was still alive
for days after he shot himself, whereas, in reality, his body has been lying in the kitchen
refrigerator. How can such a perfect scheme possibly backfire…?
Review
Denys de La Patellière directed this respectable example of the suspense thriller,
an adaptation of a James Hadley Chase novel which skilfully blends the style of American
film noir with that of the conventional, character-driven French thriller. The film
stars Michèle Morgan and Daniel Gélin, each of whom turns in a compelling,
first rate performance that keeps the audience hooked right up until that devastating
final plot twist.
Morgan is at times chilling as the scheming femme fatale, but she remains –
inexplicably – sympathetic throughout, an actress who is perfectly suited to this
kind of morally ambiguous, emotionally complex role. Gélin is also impressive,
particularly in the latter part of the film when calm acceptance of his character’s
situation rapidly gives way to desperation and incredulity. The final confrontation
of Morgan and Gélin is horrifying in its emotional intensity yet unutterably
poignant.
Bernard Blier is the film’s other major star, giving an admirable
performance as the investigating police inspector – tough and uncompromising, but
with that characteristic Blier charm which is amply served by Michel Audiard’s dry
comic dialogue. As is so often the case, Blier represents sanity and order in a
universe that is so often anything but sane and ordered. His calm authority assures
us that everything will turn out well in the end, even if it means that the sacrificial
lamb which the law and society demands to create the illusion that order exists isn't
always deserving of its fate.
As if that wasn’t enough on-screen talent,
the film also marks the screen debut for another young actress who would soon achieve
international celebrity – Michèle Mercier. In the 1960s, she would
star in a series of adaptations of the Angélique novels of Anne and Serge Golon
and, for a short time, would rival Brigitte Bardot as the sex goddess of French cinema.
© James Travers 2005
|
|
Buy this film:
|
|
|
|
