Quai des Orfèvres [Subtitled] (Criterion Collection)

 

 

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The first time I saw QUAI DES ORFEVRES (Criterion), I was hooked within minutes. I saw it again with some friends, who said they didn't want to see a foreign film and have to read subtitles, but they too were riveted almost immediately. This noirish French crime story directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot captures the feel of 1940s Paris at night -- the back alleys and smokey cabarets -- better than any film I can think of. But more than that, it reveals the unexpected human behavior that revolves around a possessive husband, a sexy night club singer, a best girlfriend photographer, a murdered lecherous movie producer and the persistent investigation of a weary police inspector. This terrific film is full of surprises and my favorite of this week's picks. (The title "Quai des Orfevres" is the French equivalent to England's Scotland Yard.) Highest recommended.

Clouzot, the "French Hitchcock", downplays the suspense here to make a joyfully cynical comedy in the guise of a murder mystery about Parisian show-biz lowlife. Bernard Blier plays a loser-ish musician (who looks like, in the words of one critic, "a homicidal Bob Newhart") who is crazily jealous about his hotsy-totsy wife, the night-club singer Jenny Lamour. When she threatens to hook up with millionaire Brignon (the amazingly repellent Charles Dullin), mayhem ensues. Blier and wife are aided by their neighbor, the smut photographer Dora (who has a "masculine aspect" to her, if you get my drift) but the police are called, in the person of Louis Jouvet's magnificently dour detective. The film explores the raffish milieu of low-rent entertainment of the 1940's with great style. Clouzot retains his unique combination of satire and sentiment about equivocal human nature that is also found in his other masterpieces, "The Wages of Fear", "Diabolique" and "Le Corbeau." This is a most entertaining movie.

The main problem with this movie is that it is neither authentic Noir or authentic Clouzot. Its hybrid nature is rather unsettling, although it is also part of its charm. It is focused on a bunch of characters who operate in the Parisian music hall/vaudeville culture of its period, or even earlier. The tone is grey and white, more so than black and white, and if dubbed rather than subtitled, one would have no hesitation in guessing that this was an early 1940s Hollywood black comedy. What this really means is that instead of goose-pimple-raising tension and suspense, we have a murder whose investigation raises more laughs than chills. A good example is where Maurice, the prime suspect, hands Antoine the investigating police inspector a piece of paper bearing the most incriminating evidence in the entire case, with which he immediately proceeds to light his pipe. There is absolutely nothing truly evil or sinister in the entire movie. Anyone expecting an experience midway between the earlier LE CORBEAUX and the later WAGES OF FEAR will be greatly disappointed. It is best to approach this with no preconceptions and simply enjoy what it has to offer. The music hall sequences and their rehearsals are very well done, thanks to the sterling work of the inimitable Suzy Delair as Jenny, and Clouzot's skilful ability to transfer its aura and atmosphere to the screen. Louis Jouvet as Inspector Antoine shuffles around unpredictably, seemingly all at sea, the biggest clutz ever to lead a criminal investigation. He does get his man in the end, but it takes him a whole month to do so, during which the suspects tear their hearts out, and each others', and one nearly kills himself. But it is all in a great cause and creates great fun all round ---- eventually. The dialogue is amusing and cynical, and it is well to remember that Clouzot got his start in the film industry as a script writer and not as a director. Some of the shooting of the wet or snow-driven Paris streets are highly atmospheric, but more often the camera work is pretty standard. Where Clouzot scores most highly is in his ability to make the characters draw sparks from each other during their tempestuous interactions. They are too shallow and predictable to be really interesting in their own right, but collectively they provide a good deal of amusement and entertainment. For a director of Clouzot's awesome reputation, this is simply not good enough.

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