skjam | Entries tagged with france

The Life of Emile Zola (1937) dir. William Dieterle

We first meet Emile Zola (Paul Muni) when he is a penniless writer sharing a freezing garret with his friend, starving artist Paul Cezanne (Vladimir Sokoloff). They favor the "realist" schools of their respective crafts, which is not only unpopular with the buying public, but in Zola's case often gets him in trouble with the government censors. It's not that the censors want Zola not to write "the truth" as that he is big on uncomfortable truths that are either vulgar or show the French government in a bad light. Zola's mother and his fiancee Alexandrine (Gloria Holden) show up to rescue Emile from freezing with word he's managed to land a job at the Hachette publishing house.

It's honest work, but Emile is just scraping by. He manages to get a novel, The Confession of Claude written, but its rather explicit text upsets the censors. Even though it wasn't published by Hachette Publishing, the censors tell M. Hachette they hold him responsible for this filth because Zola is his employee. Zola refuses to restrain himself from further outrages, so Hachette discharges him.

Emile makes a few francs now and then by writing a lot of muckraking newspaper articles about the abysmal conditions the poor endure in Paris. During one of his relatively flush periods, he runs into a woman of the streets who has a particularly interesting life story. Zola fictionalizes her as "Nana" (Erin O'Brien-Moore) and this book, while of course one can't be seen reading it in public, becomes his first bestseller.

Now that the public knows Zola can write, they're ready for more of his "realism" and he has a string of successful books, to the point where the government censors just kind of give up. In the middle of this is the Franco-Prussian War, which goes very badly for the French. Zola is able to get juicy inside information on the incompetence of the General Staff of the French Army and writes a book about it. This earns him the ire of those same officers but there's little they can do as he's written the truth.

Cezanne comes to visit his old friend, and is appalled to see Zola fat and lazy, and obsessed with material objects, like a petit bourgeosis. The artist feels that Emile has abandoned his former dedication to truth above all else, and Zola admits he feels that he's done his part and should be allowed to enjoy life. Cezanne breaks contact (this is before, in real life, the painter inherited a small fortune from his father and developed the Impressionist style that made him famous.)

But trouble is brewing elsewhere. The French military turns out to have a spy in it that's been selling secrets to the Germans. The audience knows from the beginning that the traitor is Major Walzin-Esterhazy (Robert Barrat), but when the General Staff are looking at their roster, they notice that Captain Alfred Dreyfus (Joseph Schildkraut) is a Jew. Therefore, he must be the spy! Dreyfus is railroaded based on flimsy (and later forged) evidence, much to the dismay of his wife Lucie Dreyfus (Ga;e Sondergaard). Despite all the efforts of her and Alfred's friends, he's convicted and sent to Devil's Island.

When honest officer Colonel Piquart (Henry O'Neill) discovers evidence that Esterhazy is the true culprit, his superiors inform him that they cannot afford to admit a mistake--it would ruin the reputation of the General Staff and bring about distrust of the government. He's ordered to keep quiet and shipped off to a remote post.

However Madame Dreyfus has kept her ear to the ground and learns of what went down. She goes to Emile Zola for help, and though he is initially reluctant to get involved, the full monstrosity of what's been happening ignites his righteous fury. After conducting more research, Zola prints his famous editorial, J'accuse on the front page of a newspaper. There is a great sensation, and the General Staff sues Emile for libel. The judge is obviously in the pocket of the military, and will not allow evidence on the Dreyfus Affair to be entered into the record, even though it's key to the defense's case. Plus, of course, the military witnesses except Piquart are lying their asses off.

Will justice prevail?

This classic biographical movie won the Best Picture Oscar for the year of 1937. It's certainly got points of strong interest, and Paul Muni is stellar as Zola. Schildkraut and Sondergaard, normally typecast as villains, also have excellent performances. There are stirring themes of truth, justice and striving against a corrupt system.

On the other hand, this is a very talky movie and runs slow in some long scenes--there's a fair amount of people declaiming at each other rather than actual conversations.

And of course, Hollywood history changes some events around and simplifies them for easier understanding. The most infamous bit of this is that while we see the word "Jew" in the roster and it's clear that this is the trigger for Dreyfus being suspected, it's never said aloud, and there's no spoken mention of the anti-Semitism that was a huge part of the injustice being done, and was called out by Zola in his famous editorial and at the trial. Part of this, of course, was avoiding being too "political" at a time when the Nazi Party of Germany still had a lot of friends in the United States. How deliberate this was is up for debate.

Content note: Suicide, off screen. It's heavily implied "Nana" is a prostitute, and that Zola's novels contain a lot of naughty words. Anti-semitism, however downplayed. Given the slow, talky nature of the movie, it's unlikely any children who'd be upset are going to be watching for long.

While this is certainly an important movie in film history, it's a bit of a snoozer, so is most recommended to the serious film student and history buffs.

Current Music: "Deep White Noise"

Maniac (1963) dir. Michael Carreras (aka "The Maniac")

Four years ago, French schoolgirl Annette Beynat (Liliane Brousse) was raped by a neighbor. That man was caught in the act by her father Georges, who decided not to turn him over to the police, but instead use an acetylene torch to murder him in a manner so horrific it even made the American newspapers. Deemed insane by the court, Georges has languished in an insane asylum ever since.

In the present day, American artist Jeff Farrell (Kerwin Matthews) comes to Camargue, a rural area of Southern France noted for its horse ranches. He quarrels with his current lover, a spoiled rich woman, and since she owns the car, is now stranded in the small village where Annette and her stepmother Eve (Nadia Gray) operate Georges' inn. Jeff immediately finds Annette (now 19) attractive and flirts with her. She in turn seems to be somewhat attracted to the exotic Yank and open to romantic feelings for the first time since the incident.

Eve also sees something in Jeff, and with her greater experience and more direct approach, wins him away from Annette, so the two older people are soon having an affair. Problem! While Eve is no longer in love with Georges, she still feels loyalty to him, visiting him every week in the asylum, and unable to get a divorce because Catholic. She has a plan, though. Georges, she says, is actually much better now and could live in the outside world if it weren't that revealing he's no longer insane would simply get him transferred to regular prison. If he's sprung from the asylum, Georges has promised to go overseas, send for Annette, and leave Eve free to move on with her life.

Jeff, romantic that he is, is okay with this plan, though Annette is uncomfortable with it. Especially the illegal parts. Eve and Jeff decide to go through with it anyway, meeting the escapee (Donald Houston behind a thick mustache and dark glasses) and driving him to the docks where a ship is waiting.

The next morning, Inspector Etienne (George Pastell) is questioning the residents of the inn, who claim to know nothing of Georges' escape. Before he leaves, the police officer drops a bit of a bombshell. Two men are missing from the asylum. Quickly, the simple plan unravels in a series of twists.

This film is another of Hammer Studios' early crime thrillers before they pivoted to horror. We never see what Georges does with the torch, nor is it described beyond that it made the American papers, it was that horrific. But the opening is all the lurid stuff we get for a long while. The movie takes its own sweet time developing the romantic relationships before the halfway point when the escape happens. Finally, it's rollercoaster time!

The acting is generally okay, though the French accents sometimes are less than intelligible (can't speak to their authenticity. Jeff gets stiffer as the movie moves into the thriller section of the plotline.

The landscapes are pleasant, especially the abandoned quarry at the climax. Might have looked even better in color.

Content note: Off-camera murder, we see corpses after except for the first one for obvious reasons. Some lesser violence. A little blood. Off-camera rape, consensual extramarital sex. Female toplessness from the back. Adults smoke and drink alcohol, not always wisely. It's implied the local boys see Annette as "soiled goods."

Worth seeing once just to enjoy all the twists. Recommended for patient viewers who are okay with a slow buildup that's more romance than suspense.

Current Location: abandoned quarry

Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959) dir. Jean Delannoy (French title: Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre)

It's difficult to imagine, but Jules Maigret (Jean Gabin) was not always a police commissioner. As a boy, he lived in the rural village of Saint-Fiacre, where his father was the steward for the chateau of the Count de Saint-Fiacre. He was in his early teens when his father died, and Jules was taken to Paris. Maigret has never lost his rose-tinted memories of the village. So when the now-widowed Countess de Saint-Fiacre (Valentine Tessier) tells him she has received a threatening letter, he is quick to take some time to visit.

The letter states that she will die before the end of Ash Wednesday Mass, an oddly specific threat. It is possibly just meant to scare her, but always there is the possibility of a real menace, as experienced policeman Maigret well knows. The Countess introduces him to the staff as an antique dealer, a plausible excuse. The once-sumptuous chateau has been stripped of much of its art and fancy furniture, and its library of the more salable books, but there are a few choice pieces remaining. The Countess' secretary Lucien Sabatier (Robert Hirsch) supplements his income by writing art criticism for the nearby small city of Moulins' newspaper. He also gives the Countess her medical injections at night, but all seems to be in order so Maigret gets some sleep, waking up and dressing by 7:20 A.M.

Alas, Maigret has let one vital fact slip his mind. On Ash Wednesday in rural France, the first Mass starts at 7 A.M. The Countess has already left! Maigret has a little relief when he arrives at the church and his old friend is still alive, but after the Mass is complete she does not move. And when Maigret checks on her, the Countess is dead!

Dr. Bouchardon (Paul Frankeur), the Countess' personal physician, is quick to write off the death as an ordinary heart attack. After all, she'd had a heart condition for some time now. Maigret thinks otherwise--a heart attack predicted so precisely is nothing ordinary! Before much else can be done, Count Maurice de Saint-Fiacre (Michel Auclair), the Countess' wastrel son, arrives. There's been a false report of his suicide printed in the Moulins newspaper, and he wants to get to his mother before she hears of it. He supposedly was not in the village last night, and claims to be shocked that she's dead.

Sabatier was in Moulins last night, at the newspaper, but claims to know nothing of the false report. The priest (Michel Vitold) is acting suspiciously. The new steward Gaultier (Camille Guérini) has grudges against both Sabatier and Count Maurice. There's plenty of suspects, and Maigret is beginning to regret returning to his childhood home.

Jules Maigret was created by Georges Simenon (1903-1989), appearing in 75 novels and 28 short stories between 1931-1972. The works have been adapted many times, this particular movie being the middle of a set of three from the 1950s and based on a 1932 novel.

The story is a bit atypical for Maigret, without any of his usual supporting cast, not even mentioning his wife. Since he is out of his jurisdiction, Maigret has no official powers of investigation or arrest. (From what I've read, this is more of a plot point in the novel.) An amusing bit is that as the movie is in black and white, like the books it must be purposely brought up that his eyes are a distinctive shade of blue.

There's a lot of sadness in the movie for Maigret. The empty spaces on the chateau walls and the marks where furniture used to be. The loss of someone who was kind to him as a child, and the offenses to her dignity. The slow decay of his childhood village. Even the season lends itself to the feeling as Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent in late winter, a time of fasting and repentance.

At one point, Maigret talks to the editor of the newspaper as to why the false news was printed. It seemed to come from a reliable source (faked) and if the editor had refused to print such an important story and it was real, he would have been fired. But since it was false, the paper can simply print a retraction. It's not like a false newspaper story would kill anyone...right?

Despite the diabolical murder method, the mystery itself is slow going, but we do get the climactic dinner party with all the suspects gathered, and Maigret setting them against each other before revealing which is the murderer.

Content note: Murder, of course. Almost no violence, though Maigret is within a trice of slapping a man who's been enormously offensive and manhandles a suspect. Intimations of extramarital sex. Some slightly racy dancing in the basement "Hula Hoop" nightclub. A fair amount of alcohol use, and Maigret is a pipe smoker, including lighting up in a "no smoking" area.

This is a quiet, serviceable mystery movie. While I'd recommend it most to fans of the Maigret books or other adaptations, it would serve well as a standalone introduction to the character for mystery fans who haven't seen anything else with Maigret yet.

Current Mood: nostalgic

Scream of Fear (1961) dir. Seth Holt (British title: "Taste of Fear")

Ten years ago, the Applebys divorced, and Mrs. Appleby got custody of their daughter Penny Appleby (Susan Strasberg). Eight years ago, Penny had a riding accident and lost the use of her legs. Three years ago, her mother died, and she was left alone with only her long-time companion. Three weeks ago, her companion drowned, an apparent suicide, and her father sent a letter inviting her to his home on the French Riviera near Cannes.

But when Penny arrives at the villa, she is met by Jane Appleby (Ann Todd), her father's second wife and thus her stepmother. Her father's been called away on "business" and it must have been important as he left despite having a non-specified medical condition, and without his chauffeur, Robert (Ronald Lewis). Jane's installed a couple of wheelchair ramps in the villa where practical, but most of the building is closed off to Penny by steep stairs or locks with out-of-reach keys. She can't even leave the estate without being carried by Robert! The only other servant at this time is Marie (Anne Blake) the housekeeper, who does not live in the villa so is usually absent at night.

That night, Penny sees a light in the supposedly locked "summer house." When she investigates, she sees what appears to be her father Mr. Appleby (Fred Johnson)--and he's dead! Retreating in fear, Penny accidentally wheels herself into the swimming pool. When she awakens, she's tended by her father's friend and frequent visitor Dr. Pierre Gerard (Christopher Lee). There is, of course, no corpse in the summer house, which has been locked up for months. (It's winter, by the way.)

A series of other events involving music no one else hears from a locked piano and the corpse reappearing and re-vanishing convinces Penny that either she's going mad...or someone is trying to drive her mad. If Mr. Appleby is truly dead, then Penny gets the money except for a pittance for Jane, but if Penny is deceased or "incompetent", then Jane gets it all. Dr. Gerard seems deeply concerned for Penny's mental state, and is chummier with Jane than the official "friend of your father's" description would imply. Robert is acting sympathetic, but can he be trusted? Can anyone in the villa be trusted?

This is another of the black and white thrillers Hammer Films produced before they went all-in on horror. The lack of color helps disguise that it wasn't shot in Southern France, but their usual locations in England. It's nicely suspenseful, and has an excellent ending. Christopher Lee described it as the best of the Hammer movies he was in, but he may have meant "favorite."

While Mr. Lee is quite good in his role despite a dubious French accent, he's more of a supporting role in this one, and not the main reason to see the movie. Ms. Strasburg is excellent as Penny, getting a lot of emotional range, and the other actors also do a good job.

I have difficulty dealing with "is this character crazy or not" stories, so some scenes, especially the one where Dr. Gerard suggests that Penny's paraplegia is psychosomatic and that her disappearing evidence might also all be in her head, were hard to sit through. The story does resolve this subplot well.

There's a nicely creepy atmosphere and a couple of well-distributed jump scares.

Content note: murder, suicide, corpses, implied marital infidelity. Some dubious treatment of mental and physical disability. At one point Robert wears swim trunks that would have been scandalously brief and tight for 1961 Britain. Older teens on up, maybe younger teens if adults are present for guidance.

Current Mood: enthralled
Current Location: Cote d'Azur

Atom Age Vampire (1960) dir. Anton Giuilo Majano (original title "Seddok, l'erede di Satana")

Brilliant scientist Professor Alberto Levin (Alberto Lupo) is working on a revolutionary cure for skin cancer and scarring, inspired by his research on radiation survivors. With his faithful assistant Monique Riviere (Franca Parisi) and mute manservant Sacha (Roberto Bertea), he's developed first a serum that causes monstrous cell growth in animals, Derma-25, and now one that reverses the effects, Derma-28. Monique forces him to advance to human testing by injecting herself with Derma-25, and insisting he use the new serum instead of the usual immediate radiation therapy. It works, but now Professor Levin needs a documented experiment that will truly prove that Derma-28 is both effective and safe for humans.

As it happens, Nightclub dancer Jeanette Moreneau (Susanne Loret) has just been dumped by her lover, sailor Pierre Mornet (Sergio Fantoni). It seems he wanted her to give up her job despite it being how they met, but she didn't want to be unemployed while he was off at sea. Upset and driving angry, Jeanette has a car crash and winds up with severe permanent facial scarring. (Pierre hears nothing about this because his ship already sailed.)

On the verge of suicide as she can't live with her (pretty concealable) scarring, Jeanette is secretly contacted by Monique and offered the Derma-28 treatment, on the condition that she tell absolutely no one. Jeanette isn't entirely convinced, but shows up at the Levin mansion anyhow. In the heat of his enthusiasm, Professor Levin fails to get informed consent from Jeanette before subjecting her to the treatment, which uses up the entire existing supply of Derma-28. The process works, and Jeanette is seemingly cured. A combination of her restored beauty and his elation at success causes Professor Levin to become enamored of Jeanette, much to the displeasure of Monique, who thought she was the love interest.

Meanwhile, Pierre arrives back in town and traces Jeanette to the hospital, only to discover that she has vanished with no forwarding address.

Jeanette, while appreciative of Professor Levin's cure, isn't nearly as into him as he is into her. She's pining for Pierre now that she could show herself in front of him. And then the scar tissue starts resurfacing so the doctor slips her a mickey.

Levin realizes that because the scar tissue was so old, it will take multiple Derma-28 treatments to completely eradicate it. But it will take months to synthesize a new supply. He could, however, take glands from healthy beautiful young women and implant them in Jeannette to bolster the Derma-28 in her system and that could also work. Monique immediately realizes that's the plot of a horror movie and vetoes the idea, much to the professor's wrath.

It's not clear if Professor Levin kills her without leaving noticeable marks in the ensuing struggle, or she succumbs to her pre-existing heart condition. But he is able to remove her glands subtly enough so that coroner Dr. Doubré (Tullio Altamura) doesn't suspect a thing. The cursory investigation of Monique's death also introduces Inspector Bouchard (Ivo Garrani). He immediately flags Levin as a person of interest, and a potential expert to consult on cases involving radiation poisoning.

Needing more pretty young woman glands, Levin disguises his appearance with Derma-25 (also boosting his confidence to allow him to kill) and commits more obvious murders. He still hasn't quite taken it in that Jeannette isn't falling in love with him, and that may bring him to his doom...

So, first off, there are no vampires in this movie, so if you're only here for the bloodsuckers, cross it off your list. The newspapers apparently nickname the person going around killing women "Seddok", thus the Italian title, and there's some speculation (which Professor Levin allows to linger) that the murderer is a Hiroshima survivor maddened by radiation-caused deformities. "A vampire of the atomic age, if you will."

The "I've made this woman beautiful/cured, oh no, it's not permanent so I need to kill people for their body parts" plotline is a well-worn one for horror movies, and kudos to Monique for both spotting it and trying not to participate. Otherwise it plays out in a fairly standard manner.

Professor Levin shows signs of being a bit unhinged from the beginning, so it's not too shocking when he goes off the deep end. Monique's a more interesting character, and Professor Levin would have been way better off returning her interest instead of forcing Jeanette into a relationship. Pierre is a dolt, but seems to have learned how much he truly cares for Jeanette by the end. Stefan? Well, he loves both Monique and Professor Levin more than they deserve and gets little joy of it.

Some nice fade effects. It's an Italian movie, so I'm not sure why it's taking place in France. There are multiple cuts, starting with the 105-minute Italian cut, the 87-minute US cut, and the 72-minute video cut, the last of which takes out a racy dancing scene, and much of the first scene of trying to treat Jeanette with Derma-28 which contains important set-up for later plot points. Pretty sure the Italian cut has more racy dancing because it's in the trailer but not the US cut.

Content notes: several murders, no gore in the US version. Jeanette bases her self-worth entirely on her physical appearance. Racy dancing. Body horror. Inspector Bouchard is a recovering tobacco addict with a currently addicted subordinate--he falls off the wagon towards the end. The US cut should be okay for teens--if there's more gore in the Italian version, make that late teens.

Overall: The choppy editing of the US version has done a number on the coherence of the film, and it's going to feel a little creaky to modern viewers. Portions of the plot were already hoary cliches by the time this was made. Mildly recommended to fans of B-movie horror; see if you can find the longer cut.

Current Location: The Italian-speaking part of France

Inglourious Basterds (2009) dir. Quentin Tarantino

In 1941 France, SS officer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), already known as "The Jew-Hunter", ferrets out a hidden family, killing most of them, but decides to let Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent) the almost-adult daughter to outrun him to, perhaps, have the pleasure of hunting her down again later.

About four years later, a small unit led by Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) is parachuted into France some months before the D-Day landings. Their mission? "Kill Nat-zees." As a guerilla unit, the plan is for them to spread terror among the German troops by killing them in especially brutal ways, scalping corpses and permanently scarring one survivor per battle to spread the word.

Meanwhile in Paris, Shosanna is going by the name "Emanuelle" and running a movie theater with the aid of black projectionist Marcel (Jacky Ido). One of the patrons is Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl), a photogenic German sniper who'd become a war hero by holding off an American division in Italy. Needing every propaganda victory he can get, Joseph Goebbels (Sylvester Groth) cast Zoller as himself in the movie Nation's Pride which is to premiere in Paris. Smitten with Emanuelle, Zoller insists on having the premiere at her cinema. Shosanna is less than thrilled with Zoller's attentions, but there's not much she can do to protest without attracting dangerous attention.

A double agent within the German film industry alerts the Allies of the upcoming film premiere, which will have many high-ranking German government officials and military officers in attendance. This is a tempting target, and the British have the perfect agent, Lieutenant Charlie Hicox (Michael Fassbender)--fluent in German and an expert on German cinema so he can pass as the sort of person a popular actress, Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) would have on her arm at a red-carpet event. The Bastards are chosen as the muscle to back him up.

Problem! The chief of security for the premiere is now-Major Hans Landa, who is something of a master detective. Plus, the commandos don't know that another plan is simultaneously taking place that might conflict with their own. But if this mission can be pulled off, it could change the course of the war!

This movie has an odd title, perhaps so as not to step too close to one of its inspirations, 1973 movie Inglorious Bastards. It's oddly structured, too. I understand it was cut to two and a half hours from a six-hour miniseries by stripping out anything that wasn't necessary for the main plot.

There is, of course, some lovely violence, but Mr. Waltz delivers some tense quiet scenes as well, first talking with the farmer that's hiding Shosanna's family, and later with the disguised Shosanna herself. Is he on to her, or is he just suspicious as part of his security job? And then there's the reveal of his master plan.

The cinematography is good, and I liked all the references to classic war movies. I just hope you weren't expecting the Bastards to be the focus characters, because they spend a lot of time offscreen. Also, this is a war movie, so don't get too attached to any one character.

Content note: Lots of gory violence, often fatal. Torture and mutilation. Racism and anti-Semitism. Zoller does not take "no" for an answer from women. A bit of onscreen sex. Some rough language.

Overall: I can see why this is some folks' favorite Tarantino film. It's got a lot of good bits. But it didn't quite hold together for me. Recommended to fans of violent war movies.

The Black Book (1949) dir. Anthony Mann

The French Revolution is eating its own. The corrupt monarchy was overthrown, yes, and many of the cruel aristocrats executed or exiled. But the temptations of power have turned the Citizens' Committee against each other, and control of the mob requires ever-increasing sacrifices of the "enemies of France." It is a Reign of Terror (the alternate title of this film.) Maximilien Robespierre (Richard Basehart) is determined to stay at the apex of power, and now wishes to be officially declared dictator. Francois Barras (Richard Hart) is currently the only man who can make that motion in the National Convention. He refuses this betrayal of the principles of the Revolution and goes into hiding.

Robespierre has a plan for getting around this setback. He's summoned a man from Strasbourg named Duval who is known for his ruthlessness in dealing with the enemies of the state, and sends secret police head Fouche (Arnold Moss) to fetch him from an inn. Robespierre explains that his "Black Book", a listing of the people he means to have executed at some point and the evidence he has against them, has been stolen. As long as no one else knows the precise list of names, Robespierre has been able to play his enemies against each other. But if it falls into the wrong hands...Duval has twenty-four hours to investigate as the book must be secured before the next meeting of the Convention.

What neither Robespierre nor Fouche know at this point is that the man calling himself Duval is actually Charles D'Aubigny (Robert Cummings), an agent of the Marquis d'Lafayette. He secretly killed and replaced Duval as part of a plan to find out what Robespierre was up to. Knowledge of the Black Book makes his mission vital: if he can get that into the right hands, the Reign of Terror can be ended. Things are complicated as the one person in Paris who knows he's not Duval is his ex-lover Madelon (Arlene Dahl) who he's not on good terms with due to the "ex" thing, but is his one connection to Barras.

From there it's a deadly game against all sides as D'Aubigny tries to navigate not betraying the Resistance while keeping enough good grace from Robespierre to continue pretending to be Duval. There's several twists ahead!

As I understand it, this movie's script was considerably altered from one that was more historically accurate, but much talkier. You might not want to watch it with an expert on French history the first time.

This movie is listed as a "film noir", and was shot in black and white with many dark night scenes. The acting is excellent, though a modern audience might find it lacking in naturalism.

Richard Basehart plays Robespierre as a man so caught up in his own rhetoric that he sincerely believes everything he's doing is for the good of France and that he's in complete control so he doesn't have to second-guess whether he's doing the right thing or just what's in his favor. Arnold Moss' Fouche is much more self-aware, and is a delight on screen as the sneaky, amoral, look out for number one fellow he is. (Fouche survives the film only because that's what happened to him in real life; he served under the next regime as well, so the Hays Code had to allow it.)

The "noir" really hits home in an exchange at the end that indicates that France will have a dictator after all.

Content note: Torture, children in peril, one of the bad guys kicks a cat.

Overall, an interesting semi-historical movie that has good performances in it. Some younger viewers may find it old-fashioned, but "Golden Age of Hollywood" movie buffs will enjoy the treat.