Andre Cayatte is known for tackling controversial subjects including euthanasia, plastic surgery and most notably the French judicial system. One is inclined to take for granted what a first rate film maker he is, in terms of his technical proficiency, creativity and his undoubted skill with actors. This is, for him at any rate, a pretty straightforward crime film but as we have come to expect from this director, one in which the characters are morally ambiguous and no one is quite what they seem.
The disgraced husband of Florence takes his own life which means that no insurance is payable but in true femme fatale fashion she engages the crooked Inspector Nansen to prove it was murder. The perfect fall guy is Manu, a young smuggler who was the last to see the dead man alive but things become more complicated when Sex rears its ugly head.
This is not only an intriguing film but an immensely watchable one.
It failed at the box office, not least because of the presence in the cast of Madeleine Sologne, a statuesque blonde whose role in 'L'Eternel Retour' of 1943 had marked her out as a perfect Aryan type and whose career was damaged by her perceived chumminess with the Vichy regime. Her performance as Florence is both stylish and compelling but she was not to appear again on screen alas for another decade.
The future looked bleak for Mlle Sologne but for Serge Reggiani who plays Manu, things looked decidedly rosy. His nonchalant and earthy demeanour was unique for the times and very appealing. He worked with Cayatte again on 'Les amants de Verone' but following his iconic role as Felix in 'Le Casque d'or' in 1956 nothing was quite the same. As Manu he has what can only be described as a 'volatile' relationship with Fine, played by his wife at the time Janine Darcey. This explains their palpable chemistry. Paul Meurisse as Nansen is utterly mesmerising but then, when isn't he!
Although their despicable scheme fails neither Florence nor Nansen are held to account and he is actually hailed as a brilliant detective. 'Just doing my duty' he modestly avers. Well, this is Cayatte after all!
