La Tradition de minuit (1939)
Directed by Roger Richebé

Film Review

This respectable early example of French film noir has many of the characteristics that would come to define its American close cousin but it retains a distinctly Gallic identity (in contrast to many subsequent French policiers made in the 1940s).  La Tradition de minuit benefits from a strong cast headed by the supremely charismatic Viviane Romance (who gets to sing some sparkling musical numbers), with strong contributions from the two male leads Georges Flamant and Marcel Dalio.  Pierre Larquey provides some welcome comedy support as a stumbling non-entity (in other words, an accountant) who - had this been an Agatha Christie whodunit - would undoubtedly have been the killer.  Larquey's intensely likeable persona, alas, condemns him to a lesser role in the proceedings, but his presence is much appreciated.

In the best tradition of classic film noir, the plot is torturously convoluted and strains credulity to breaking point.  What makes the narrative so compelling is the fascinating ambiguity of the two main male characters, neither of whom is quite what he seems and it is only in the frantic whirlwind denouement that the real villain of the piece is unveiled (ironically, he is not the murderer!).  Another plus is Armand Thirard's suitably atmospheric photography, that is more subtly menacing than the heavily expressionistic style employed on later films noirs.  Roger Richebé's direction is mostly workman-like but occasionally shows some inspired flourishes, making this a better than average example of its genre.  La Tradition de minuit is an enjoyably muddled mindbender of a murder mystery that vividly anticipates the more stylish French thrillers of the 1950s.  An important film producer of the 1930s and '40s, Richebé did direct several notable films himself, his best being the historical romp Madame Sans-Gêne (1941) and wicked satire L'Habit vert (1937).

Film Synopsis

Clara Véry, a singer at the nightclub Le Soleil noir, receives an anonymous telephone call inviting her to attend a meeting the next day in a café. Here, she meets four other people who have received the same message: businessman Claude Thierry, antiques dealer Édouard Mutter, accountant Béatrix and butcher Louis Fraipont. The latter suspects they were summoned by Noël le Caïd, the café's owner, but he is found dead in his bedroom. Believing that one of them must have been the killer, the five strangers agree to meet up again at the café for a meal.  Afterwards, Clara and Claude realise they have fallen in love and hastily decide to get married.  Clara is persuaded that her husband is a police chief whereas he is in fact a career criminal working for gangland boss Bosset.  When Claude fails to carry out one of his 'missions'  Bosset sends his henchman Hortilopitz to murder him.  Hortilopitz offers Claude a chance of escape in return for a large wad of cash, which he manages to extort from Mutter.  When Clara discovers her husband's real identity she cannot bear to be separated from him.  They agree to run away together, not knowing that the net is already closing in around them...