They say that Jean-Paul Paulin's "la nuit merveilleuse " was Maréchal Pétain's favorite movie;a retelling of the nativity in Provence it's one of its kind ;other Paulin's efforts display some originality : "l'homme qui vendit son ame" "l'esclave blanc " (which reverses the sexes and the races )are interesting curios.
"Le château de la dernière chance" had a good subject :a man ,about to hang himself ,is saved by a guy in search of guinea-pigs for a treatment which restores their self-confidence and bring them back to happiness: in a castle , the "last chance castle" , a scientist invented a mixture which can give new personalities to the patient .There the "survivor" comes back to life and he meets a female patient with whom he plays Romeo and Juliet,;but when they live the hospital ,he goes his way and she goes hers.
This is a cock and bull story, with a disjointed screenplay ;except for the last scene , which echoes to the first one, the movie has nothing to attract the viewer's attention after fifteen minutes.
This was Natalie Nattier's follow-up to Carné 's "les portes de la nuit" ,in which her role was first intended for Marlène Dietrich ;she reveals herself a rather vulgar actress here.
The subject was later resumed by Victor Merenda as a thriller ("sursis pour un vivant", 1958) and by Alain Jessua ("paradis pour tous" ,1982) ,both much more interesting,mainly the latter.
