La batalla silenciosa

I bought a French lobby card of "la Bataille silencieuse" in a movie shop, representing Michel Simon beaten with blood on his face helpt by Pierre Fresnay. I finally found a print, unfortunetely strongly muffled. Maybe it's not a masterpiece, but this spy story in a train close to British Hitch is entertaining and deserves restoration. I would say mainly for Michel Simon as a secret agent, the genius can definitely be incredible in all kind of characters, from tramp to distinguished person. I'll have a definite judgment on this rare and interesting movie about geopolitical problems in Southern Europe when we have a correct print, my lobby card being far superior to the same poor scene from the print I have.

Pierre Billon,in spite of estimable works ,such as "l'homme au chapeau rond" "Ruy Blas " or "Agnès De Rien ", was always considered a B movie director,in a twenty-five-year career .

"La bataille silencieuse " -"silent battle ,the title is a bit a misnomer ,for the last fight is rather noisy- is a spy thriller , which may remind you of Hitchcock's "the lady vanishes " ,for most of the action takes place on a train ,the orient express;based on a novel "le poisson Chinois" (the Chinese fish) , this is the nickname of a secret agent of the Deuxième Bureau : Michel Simon as a James Bond forerunner , it may seem odd ,but this actor could play anything ; His pairing with Pierre Fresnay as a naive journalist (Dragucha ,the mysterious woman gives him nitroglycerine to keep ,claiming it's perfume)is a treat for the cine buff who can see two monstres sacrés together.Alerme is a smart press businessman who can doctor passports with remarkable ease .

This is a muddled affair, with arms dealing,blackmail , and a young terrorist (Kate De Nagy) whose father is (or may be) in jeopardy .Sometimes the plot is hard to decipher ,but it is the rule of the game in a spy thriller ; a warning is issued in the cast and credits :" we could have located the story in imaginary countries, but we thought it would be more exciting in real places " ; and Sarajevo ,isn't it a good place for an attack?The story is not really serious,it has a strong tongue- in -cheek side .