Quai Des Orfevres (1947)

The concept is simple. You love your wife. You are jealous of your wife's popularity among the men. You are easily angered. You are at the point where anything can happen. You are Maurice Martineau from the utterly French, yet utterly amazing film Quai Des Orfevres. A film that takes you from the slums of France, into the mind of an early detective, and then twists you into another world when you least expect it (or at least you think you have it figured out). This is exactly the type of film that I love. It is unknown, nearly forgotten, yet has everything a modern blockbuster would relish in. It has the dame (the beautiful woman that you want to love), the jealous husband, the witty - yet due-diligent police officer, and you have the scurvy old man. Again, I pose the question - what more do you want in a film? From merely looking at this early Criterion box (spine 193) one probably would think this was just another Pickpocket, but it offers so much more. It is a world upon its own - ready to be explored, never to be forgotten.

What is this film? Director Henri-Georges Clouzot does a fabulous job of giving us powerful characters, darkened elements, and - my favorite - the unknown. This film hinges on what we see, the complexity of our lives, and what we would do for love - or what we think is love. It includes prostitution, lesbians, and voyeurism all in 1947. Shocking as it may seem, it is done tactfully and gracefully, giving this film a quality of romanticism and style. I guess the ultimate question for this film is which genre does it fall into? Is it a crime picture? Is it a romance? Is it a who-dun-it? That is what builds the complexity of this film. I loved the pairing of both Suzy Delair (Jenny Lamour) to the very average looking Bernard Blier. His passion for Jenny was so obvious from the beginning, that I loved the he turned into a monster by the end - a monster that the police corrupted further. What he does to himself to ensure that he doesn't go to prison was unexpected and added a new depth to their character. I also loved that this occurred during Christmas, a time where we think onto family and our loved ones - it just cemented the idea of earthiness and home-style feeling.

Where this film perhaps missed the mark was in the development of our infamous - and dedicated - police officer. Louis Jouvet does a great job playing Inspector Antoine, but it is when he thinks back to the colonies that I felt a bit cheated. He has a "son" that occasionally pops into the picture to secure a human feel to him, but I was so caught up with both him and the couple that when the son arrived, I just ignored him. It was an unneeded element. I also wished that they could have developed the idea of a lesbian tryst further - I think it would have helped define the relationship (or at least the geometric triangle - who didn't like that moment of symbolism) between Maurice, Jenny, and Dora Monier. With these gripes behind me, I do have to say there were flaws, but it was 1947 and while that is no excuse - I felt it offered more than the other film I was watching in between the scenes - Twilight. While two different films, there was just more creativity and excitement for Quai Des Orfevres than expected.

Needless to say, I loved - LOVED - this movie. In fact, this is one of those films, rare recently, that I could watch again and again. I could give this film to friends or family with the understanding that I am giving them a awesome piece of history.

Quai Des Orfevres gets a green mark with blue stars in my book. It was discovered in the TIME OUT FILM GUIDE #9 in the "Q"s. Just a few films left of this book, and it has been a mixed bag. I can't wait to see the next entries. This film has re-energized my passion for cinema.