Le Démoniaque (1968)
Directed by René Gainville

Crime / Drama / Thriller
aka: The Woman Is a Stranger

Film Review

Abstract picture representing Le Demoniaque (1968)
There are overtones of Hitchcock's Psycho in this self-consciously slick adaptation of a James Hadley Chase thriller, although François Gabriel isn't quite Anthony Perkins and the direction lacks Hitchock's subtlety and ingenuity.  The film is competently directed, the second feature from Hungarian born director René Gainville, but isn't anywhere near as suspenseful or as thrilling as it could have been.  From the lackadaisical way in which the violence in the film is portrayed, you get the impression that Gainville is either embarrassed by what he is shooting or else chronically afraid of frightening the audience.

Making his film début, François Gabriel gives a convincing portrayal of a disturbed young man who goes on a killing spree for reasons that aren't quite apparent.  Despite his obvious inexperience, Gabriel brings an intensity and poignancy to his performance that makes the character he plays both instantly likeable and utterly creepy. The main flaw of the film is that Jay's motivation for murder is somewhat muddled - is it the result of some dark Oedipal impulse or a condition inherited from his mother, or is it just because he is disgusted by the phony showbiz world?  Surely if he was genuinely mad, he wouldn't be so keen to cover his tracks?

Fortunately, the quality of the performances amply compensates for the shortcomings in the plot. Gabriel has charm, good looks and talent, so it is a surprise to learn that he only appeared in three other films.  By contrast, his co-star Anne Vernon was an established actress with a film career going back two decades before she made this, one of her last films.  Jess Hahn, the other lead actor, was also a prominent fixture of French cinema, appearing in around a hundred French films in a career spanning three decades.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.

Film Synopsis

Whilst American film producer Floyd Delaney does the rounds at the Cannes Film Festival, his adolescent son Jay keeps himself to himself, spending most of his time locked up in his hotel room.   Delaney's wife Sophie becomes increasingly concerned over her stepson, and interprets his strange behaviour as a rejection of her.  In truth, Jay is mentally unstable and proves the fact by luring a young actress to his room and strangling her.  When Sophie discovers what has happened, Jay coerces her into helping him dispose of the body.  All is well until Sophie receives a telephone call from someone who claims to have some incriminating photographs of Jay...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.


Film Credits

  • Director: René Gainville
  • Script: Jean-Louis Curtis, James Hadley Chase (novel), René Gainville
  • Cinematographer: Gérard Brisseau
  • Music: Jacques Lacome
  • Cast: Anne Vernon (Sophie), Jess Hahn (Floyd Delaney), François Gabriel (Jay Delaney), Geneviève Grad (Lise), Anna Gaël (Lucille Baller), Alice Sapritch (Mme Fernande Brussette), Claude Cerval (Joe Kerr), Marcel Gassouk (Policier), Jean-Paul Belmondo (Himself), Edwige Fenech (Herself), Jean Marais (Himself), Michèle Morgan (Herself), Jean Michaud, Christian Melsen, Danielle Durou, Thierry Delmas, Gisèle Grandpré, Michel Mayou, Colette Teissèdre, Renata Benedict
  • Country: France
  • Language: French / English
  • Support: Color
  • Runtime: 90 min
  • Aka: The Woman Is a Stranger

The best of Russian cinema
sb-img-24
There's far more to Russian movies than the monumental works of Sergei Eisenstein - the wondrous films of Andrei Tarkovsky for one.
The very best of French film comedy
sb-img-7
Thanks to comedy giants such as Louis de Funès, Fernandel, Bourvil and Pierre Richard, French cinema abounds with comedy classics of the first rank.
The best French Films of the 1910s
sb-img-2
In the 1910s, French cinema led the way with a new industry which actively encouraged innovation. From the serials of Louis Feuillade to the first auteur pieces of Abel Gance, this decade is rich in cinematic marvels.
The very best of the French New Wave
sb-img-14
A wave of fresh talent in the late 1950s, early 1960s brought about a dramatic renaissance in French cinema, placing the auteur at the core of France's 7th art.
Kafka's tortuous trial of love
sb-img-0
Franz Kafka's letters to his fiancée Felice Bauer not only reveal a soul in torment; they also give us a harrowing self-portrait of a man appalled by his own existence.
 

Other things to look at


Copyright © filmsdefrance.com 1998-2024
All rights reserved



All content on this page is protected by copyright