Stupéfiants (1932) - film review

Liliane Werner’s career as an opera singer looks set to be blighted by a mystery illness.  Her brother. Henri, discovers that she is addicted to drugs and that she has fallen under the malign influence of a band of sinister narcotics dealers.  When Liliane is kidnapped, Henri risks his life to rescue her and thwart the drugs dealers in their next daring operation…

This Franco-German production from the studios of UFA was made in two versions – one for France, the other (Der Weiße Dämon) for Germany, with a separate cast.   Peter Lorre, the star of Fritz Lang’s classic 1931 thriller M , appears in both versions, playing a sinister yet charismatic villain (and is the film’s main selling point).  The fast-paced action plot is redolent of the silent adventure film, so there’s not much in the way of exposition or character development.  However, the film makes good use of expressionist photographic technique, most notably in the nocturnal dockside sequence.   Extensive location filming – unusual in a film of this period – helps to give the film a modern, more exciting feel – an obvious attempt to mimic the style of bigger budget American productions.

© James Travers 2006

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