Jericho

A thoroughly gripping and well-made film based upon a true story. There are no 'stars' as such with the notable exception of the superlative Pierre Brasseur while the other cast members include many famililiar faces and some of France's finest character actors notably Pierre Larquey and Louis Seigner. There is a highly effective appearance by Nadine Alary as the only woman among fifty hostages who are due to be shot by the Germans as a reprisal for the sabotage of a train. The question is, can the RAF succeed in breaching the walls to allow the hostages to escape? Cinematography is by Claude Renoir with excellent dialogue by Charles Spaak. The editing by Madeleine Bagiau is exemplary. You won't catch anyone 'acting' here although Brasseur's character requires him to be histrionic. Well done to director Henri Calef who has given us a tense, brilliant and utterly believable depiction of human beings 'in extremis'.