Best known of Micheline Presle films (recently dead at 101, last of that generation of post-WWII/pre-Nouveau Vague stars) still makes its mark, but no longer seems as important (or accomplished) as it once did. Quite le scandale at the time, author Raymond Radiguet was only 20 when he died in 1923, the story something of a male amour fou, set toward the end of WWI when 17-yr-old schoolboy Gérard Philipe falls for the older Presle, already engaged to a soldier; beds her after she goes thru with the wedding; then father’s her child to set up a tragic, if weirdly neat ending. Once a very famous film indeed, now only nine comments on IMDb.com. Well paced and cleverly shot within a studio æsthetic (cinematographer Michel Kelber doing nifty moves in tight spaces), director Claude Autant-Lara able to coast on off-the-charts sexual chemistry from his equally beautiful leads. What a shock to realize Philipe, meant to be about ten years younger than Presle, was actually a year older and that he died 65 years ago. Their age difference, barely visible on screen, a real problem since it triggers nearly as much of the dramatic tension as her infidelity. Crucial details something of a lost cause with Autant-Lara. (Compare him with Jacques Becker.)
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Choose your desire with dueling posters for our starry-eyed leads.
DOUBLE-BILL: Even with 186 acting credits, Presle's only other well-known title outside of France (not seen here) is BOULE DE SUIF/’45, an adaptation of the same Guy de Maupassant story John Ford used in STAGECOACH/’39.
CONTEST/SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Post-WWII, every country with a film industry seemed to find their own angst-ridden new generation (often tragic) star. James Dean over here, in Poland Zbigniew Cybulski, but Gérard Philipe was first out of the starting gate. Did the U.K. have one? Surely it can’t be Dirk Bogarde! Best suggestion wins a MAKSQUIBS Write-Up of their choosing.
No comments:
Post a Comment