There 's a tendency to upgrade Edmond T.Greville in his native France ;the reissue of some of his best works ("Remous" ,"L'Envers Du Paradis" "Le Vent souffle" ) was cause for celebration to many cinebuffs ;Bertrand Tavernier ,notably,speaks highly of this director whose career took place in England as well as in his homeland.IMHO , the latter films were his most memorable works though.
"Quand Sonnera Midi "(when the clock is striking twelve" )is a surprisingly good rarity.The story takes place in an imaginary South-American dictatorship , Guadalarma,,where "Protector" Don Salvador is making it rough all over ;no quarter ,when you're a rebel,you're bound to be shot.The political side is derivative ,but it's not what the audience expects :except for the violent first sequences ,rebellion is nowhere to be seen ,and the people,(for fear of the reprisals?) ,are a tamed nation,acclaiming their dictator as though he were their icon.The French hero,Michel,mistaken for a revolutionary ,spends the whole movie in jail ,waiting for his execution and cannot intervene at all ; actually ,it's his wife,Christine, who plays the most prominent part ,but she does not care about the plight of the oppressed people : she wants to save her husband from the fire squad ,period.The priest does not take sides ("God has nothing to do with politics" ) ;just compare with Bunuel's "La Mort En Ce Jardin" (1956) in which the prisoner (played by the same actor,Georges Marchal)taunts the priest.
The political side is only a background ,the story deals with individual destinies ,two persons who are in the wrong place at the wrong moment :one can wonder why they live France for that country :there's no hint at problems with justice in their native land.
The screenplay may be derivative (but not that much so, for the heroes do not ally themselves with the opponents) but it's extremely efficient and suspenseful;although filmed in La Victorine Studios in Nice ,with French actors (with the exception of the one playing Don Salvador,who was born in Brazil) ,the movie succeeds in creating a latin atmosphere (you should see Pascale Roberts ,as the tyrant's passionaria!)
Directing is often exciting and there are many scenes Greville's peers should envy :
-the execution: the prisoners ,waiting to be shot ,as the clock rings the twelve strokes of noon (like tolling bells) ; Christine, who hides in the truck full of dead bodies ,in order to leave the town.
-the signet ring ;it may appear first as an insifignant detail;but the customer tells the jeweller (Michel) that he wants his initials (JYL) to be engraved on it; it causes the poor man's bust;they actually mean "Justice ET Liberté",the rebels' motto .
-The fortress governor' s shiny black shoes signals his maleficent presence ;the last appearance of this thing shows Hitchcock's influence .
-Michel ,crawling on the roof,trying to get to the church where he can find a sanctuary .
At the time ,Georges Marchal and Dany Robin were married ,so it adds a lot to their characters' credibility.
Although the heroes do not intervene on behalf of the people , Greville efficiently depicts a corrupt regime,where anybody can be bought for a handful of diamonds .And the hero does not want to cooperate ,even in exchange for a (false) dictatorial pardon.
