La bête errante

Getting close to the final "big" films of French cinema from 1932,I decided to search round online for any small titles I may have missed. Not known for much output in the genre,I was shocked to uncover on a 1932 French Western! Which led to me wandering to the beast.

Note:Some spoilers.

View on the film:

Set in Alaska, director Marco de Gastyne wraps the Western in a rustic, grizzly atmosphere of warmly lit pubs where bar room brawls break out, and it is surrounded by never ending snow. Taking Hurricane and Flossie across the snowy wilderness, Gasyne elegantly glides with them in wide panning shots following them into the deserted wasteland. Not credited anywhere online, but thankfully listed in the opening credits, the screenplay by Gastyne sends Hurricane into the pub with a gust of pessimism over seeing Flossie , and facing rough encounters with the locals. Bringing them together, Gastyne's moves away from the Western into misplaced Melodrama,with the ending being an abrupt jump into the future. Finding that the woman of his dreams did not wait for his return from the Gold Rush, Maurice Maillot gives a terrific turn,as the worn-down,but far from out loner outlaw Hurricane. In her last role, the cute Choura Milena gives an alluring performance as Flossie, who is kept by Milena as a mirage towards the wandering beast.