Le Récif de corail (1938)
Directed by Maurice Gleize

Film Review

After their, by now, legendary appearance together in Marcel Carné's, Le Quai des brumes (1938), Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan are reunited for a second time in this similarly moody romantic drama, set unusually in Australia. Adapted from Jean Martet's 1933 novel of the same title by Charles Spaak, Le Récif de corail has a distinctive atmosphere that evokes the poetic realist style of the period, but curiously it eschews a fatalistic tragic outcome in favour of an ironic happy ending.  The film was directed by Maurice Gleize, whose mostly undistinguished work includes the Fernandel comedy Le Club des soupirants (1941) and colonialist propaganda piece L'Appel du bled (1942). Gleize was no great auteur, just a reasonably competent filmmaker. His film pales in comparison with practically anything that Gabin appeared in around this time but it is not without charm, its unusual location setting it apart from most other French films of this time. Le Récif de corail is of particular interest to cinéphiles as the film was thought to have been lost forever until a copy was discovered in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2002. The iconic couple formed by Gabin and Morgan would return in two subsequent films, Jean Grémillon's Remorques (1941) and Jean Delannoy's La Minute de vérité (1952).

Film Synopsis

To escape arrest after killing a man in Brisbane, Trott Lennard joins the crew of a cargo ship bound for Mexico.  En route, Lennard has the opportunity to disembark at a paradisiacal island but decides to continue his voyage.  On reaching Mexico, he discovers he is to play a part in a gun running operation.  Accused of stealing money from the ship's captain, Lennard is locked up whilst the ship returns to Australia.  Back in Brisbane, Lennard becomes aware that he is being trailed by a police inspector, Abboy.  He takes refuge in the countryside, and it is here that he encounters Lilian, a young woman who is also a fugitive from her past.   When they fall in love, Lennard resolves to take Lilian to his island paradise.  Then he discovers that Lilian too is wanted for murder.  Before they can escape the police, Lilian becomes the latest victim of a deadly influenza epidemic…