Film Review
Henri-Georges Clouzot followed his masterful and hugely successful suspense thriller
Les Diaboliques (1955) with this perplexing
parody thriller, a far less satisfactory work that proved to be something of a commercial
embarrassment. Despite a remarkable international cast - which includes Peter Ustinov
and Curd Jürgens -
Les Espions fails to
ignite in the way that Clouzot's earlier thrillers did. The laboured, uninspired
direction does little to sustain the interest of the spectator as the torturously complex
plot thickens without any let up towards its utterly baffling, unresolved denouement.
The film's only real selling point is the dark, slightly surreal humour that Clouzot manages
to inject into the film. If only he had gone the whole hog and made this a black
comedy rather than a half-hearted spy parody it may have been a far more interesting and
rewarding film.
© James Travers 2006
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Next Henri-Georges Clouzot film:
La Vérité (1960)
Film Synopsis
Dr Malic, a failed psychiatrist, runs a somewhat shabby clinic. One
day, he is approached by a stranger, Colonel Howard, and offered a large
sum of money if he will agree to accommodate a secret agent named Alex.
Malic is no position to turn down the more than generous offer, but as soon
as the newcomer arrives the doctor suspects something is amiss. Everyone
with whom he comes into contact, including his staff and his patients, has
been replaced by a stranger with a foreign accent.
Is it possible that the entire clinic has been overtaken by spies?
And if so, for what purpose - to keep a close watch on the mysterious Alex?
It suddenly dawns on Malic that the man calling himself Alex is someone of
immense importance. This is Hugo Vogel, the nuclear physicist who has
recently perfected a powerful weapon of mass destruction. With the
intention of assisting Vogel, Malic sets out to confuse the spies, but in
doing so he puts in jeopardy Colonel Howard's ingenious plan to prevent the
real Vogel from falling into the hands of a foreign power...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.