Movies
An early Clouzot firmly rooted in the '40s. His '50s films are relatively decent for classics, but the man had to start somewhere. This mix of noir and musical was a pretty big dud, certainly considering the runtime was a little excessive for this type of film. Fans of classic cinema (or more specifically noirs) probably won't mind though. Jenny wants to make it as an actress. During a photoshoot, she meets Brignon, an old ledger with connections. Even though she loves her husband dearly, her career means a lot, and she accepts his dinner invitation. The day after, Brignon is found dead, and Jenny is the main suspect. It's a pretty simple whodunnit. Some might enjoy the more cabaret-like setting, personally I could've done without the songs and music. The characters aren't too interesting, the styling is rather bland and the finale didn't really pique my interest either. A very generic classic.Read all
French classic that used to be controversial for reasons that are mostly contextual. Watching it now, it's a pretty dull and stuffy mystery that may appeal to classic (noir) cinema fans, but I doubt if the film has surviving qualities beyond that. At least it's not too long, so adventurous souls don't lose 2+ hours having a go at it. Things are brewing in a small rural French town. A mysterious person, signing his letters under the name of Le Corbeau, is spreading rumors about various people in the village. Some are true, others are pure fabrications. People don't know what to believe, or who this mysterious troublemaker is. The film offers little beyond its premise. The performances are pretty stiff, the film leans heavily on dialogues and even though the mystery is upheld until the very end of the film, I never really cared about the identity of the shit stirrer. Slow, bland, and uneventful cinema, maybe if you buy into the deeper layers it could be something a bit more inviting.Read all