La route de Corinthe

The more Claude Chabrol films I check out, the more I like the great French director. Prior to seeing this early Chabrol flick, I hadn't seen a bad film from him - after seeing it, I have to say that I still haven't; but that doesn't change the fact that The Road to Corinth is a decidedly sub par offering from the usually solid director. Chabrol's best work tends to focus solely on characters - in particular the relationship between husband and wife - but this film focuses on more global events and the characters take a backseat. The plot focuses on a set of black boxes that have the ability to jam radar installations. Naturally there are people out to protect these devices and it's not long before an American agent is killed while trying to locate them. Despite the advice of a fellow American, his widow Shanny resolves to get on the same lead that her husband was following prior to his death, hunt down the black boxes and get revenge on the people that killed her husband.

The film is rather strange as it lacks Chabrol's usual suspense and that is replaced by a sort of awkward comedy which serves only in offsetting what little tension there is since the comedy does not work. One of the major problems with this film is undoubtedly the plot line which doesn't exactly help the lack of suspense because it's really rather boring within itself and Chabrol doesn't give the audience much reason to care about the black boxes at the centre of the story. The film does have some saving graces on the style front, however, as lead actress Jean Seberg is very easy on the eyes and Chabrol's cinematography captures the locations used well. The first half of the film just sort of drones along with barely any excitement at all, but to the film's credit; things do pick up a little bit in the second half of the film as the story draws to a close. In spite of this, however, The Road to Corinth does feel more than a little bit pointless and it's clear that Chabrol didn't really have anything to say with it. Overall, this is not one of the great director's better efforts and I would not recommend it!

In Greece, the radar and missile systems are jammed and surveillance is intensified. When the magician Pericles and his car are searched by the authorities, a mysterious electronic black box is found. They learn from Pericles that other boxes have arrived in Greece; then he commits suicide, eating his poisoned cigar. NATO Agent Robert Ford (Christian Marquand) follows a lead and contacts a man named Alcibiades (Claude Chabrol) at the Corinth Port and he asks one thousand dollars to tell the whereabouts of the black boxes. However, he is discovered by his boss Kalhides (Saro Urzzi) and a killer (Antonio Passalia) shoots him and he falls off in the sea. Robert meets his wife Shanny (Jean Seberg) in their room at the Hilton Hotel, but is murdered by the killer that frames Shanny and she is accused of murdering her husband. Robert's chief of the intelligence, Mr. Sharps (Michel Bouquet), hits on Shanny and releases her from the prison. However, Alcibiades had visited her in the prison disguised as orthodox priest and demands one thousand dollars to tell her the whereabouts of the black boxes. Sharps does not believe Shanny and assigns Robert's partner, Agent Dex (Maurice Ronet), to keep her under surveillance. But the stubborn Shanny is decided to find the culprits to revenge her husband and prove her innocence.

"La route de Corinthe", a.k.a "The Road to Corinth" (1967), is a spy adventure by Claude Chabrol that does not work well, since it is silly for a thriller and unfunny for a comedy. The gorgeous and sexy Jean Seberg is the best offered by this movie. It is funny to see Shanny and her purse luring internation and skilled spies along the story. Mr. Sharps is a ridiculous character and the killer is funny with his gay movements. Shanny convincing the mob boss Kalhides that she wants him in the end of the plot is so naive that becomes dumb. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): Not Available.

This is the last film of Chabrol's sixties transitional period (1962-1967);the next one "Les Biches" inaugurates the great era which many consider Chabrol's finest hour.Using the same actors as in "La Ligne de Démarcation" ,Chabrol tried his hand at a spoof on the spy thrillers which were so hip at the time in the wake of James Bond ;call it "Marie-Chantal Contre le Docteur Kha 2".Jean Seberg's character's recalls Marie Laforêt's.

The story is absolutely far-fetched and the viewer doesn't care a little bit for the "black boxes" which threaten the world and its radars.Michel Bouquet has a couldn't- care- less part and you would not think by looking at him he would become the great actor of such Chabrolesque achievements as " La Femme Infidèle" -where he would meet again Maurice Ronet-"La Rupture" or " Juste Avant La Nuit".Jean Seberg plays the part of a not-so-dumb-bimbo and she's very good-looking as Greek landscapes filmed by Rabier are.

Like this ? try these....

"OSS 117: Le Caire Nid D'Espions" (Hazanavicius ,2006) "Coplan Sauve Sa Peau" (Boisset,1967) "Marie-Chantal Contre Le Docteur Khâ" (Chabrol,1965)

Claude Chabrol tried his hand repeatedly at the spy genre in the 1960s (when it was extremely popular, due to James Bond's success), but it wasn't really his forte: his style is just too cerebral and measured in its pace to generate much excitement. At least "The Road To Corinth" is an improvement over his two "Agent Tiger" efforts (which further suffered from an uncharismatic lead). In this one, Jean Seberg takes a while to appear, but she makes a fairly awesome heroine: brave, smart, sneaky, determined, and (to state the obvious) beautiful with a killer body. The attractive Greek locations, the flavorful music score and a collection of eccentric characters keep you watching, but as I said above the film is rarely exciting and its climax is more of an anticlimax. Worth seeing mostly as a diversion for Chabrol, just before he entered the most celebrated phase of his long career. **1/2 out of 4.

I'm quite a big fan of French director Claude Chabrol's work that I have seen. This spy thriller is the earliest film of his that I have encountered and, to be honest, it's also the worst one so far in my opinion. It was one of many 60's spy films made at the time, a genre that was at the zenith of its popularity in that decade. The story involves NATO radar being jammed by some secret devices located somewhere in Greece. An American agent investigating this is killed and his wife then goes on the run while trying to solve the mystery.

Frankly, it's a very uninteresting story-line and one that unfortunately makes matters worse by playing things for laughs a lot of the time. I guess this would be okay if it was even remotely funny but the result is more of a very light-weight and silly film. It's very much a million miles away from the more austere films that are for the most part typical of Chabrol. In fact after this movie he was about to begin a run of extremely interesting serious minded thrillers which must surely constitute the best phase of his career. He was far better when he made movies that focused on psychologically complex character relationships. Like his hero Alfred Hitchcock, with Torn Curtain (1966) and Topaz (1969), he came unstuck when he made populist, straight-forward 60's spy thrillers, the results being far less interesting than his darker psychological works. The film is by no means a total washout though; after all it has exotic locations and the super chic actress Jean Seberg in the lead role. It's more overtly stylised than most Chabrol films, although admittedly his lower-key style was far better suited to him. So it's superficially quite good fun to an extent but is undoubtedly a weak film from this great director.