Retour de manivelle (1957)

Retour de manivelle is a French thriller film first released in 1957, directed by Denys de La Patellière.  The film stars Michèle Morgan, Daniel Gélin, Michèle Mercier, François Chaumette and Pierre Leproux.  It has also been released under the title: There’s Always a Price Tag.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


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…?

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

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