Quai des blondes

"Quai des blondes" is an early movie written by Michel Audiard, not yet in his great period with his usual stars Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Paul Meurisse,... The director is Paul Cadéac, "Quai des blondes" is his unique movie, it's far from being a masterpiece, but Michel Audiard' dialogues are sometimes punchy enough to get caught. Paul Cadéac was mainly a producer of commercial action French movies like Fantomas or OSS 117, with other collaborators like André Hunebelle, Bernard Borderie or Pierre Foucaud.

Like some American thrillers, it begins in semi documentary style, describing how cigarettes smugglers work in North Africa. Then appears playboy Michel Auclair, playing a bit like Raymond Rouleau in his George Masse adventures already written by Michel Audiard. He then meets two pin ups, Barbara Laage and Madeleine Lebeau, with who he plays the seducer. We also see Jacques Dynam, Maurice Biraud, Henri Crémieu, Robert Hossein, Dario Moreno and many others. And an unexpected tough black American smuggler. Entertaining.

Just a pity the only print available was so damaged, but still watchable if you want to discover early Audiard dialogues.

Those blondes are not girls but cigarettes blondes(= Virginia cigarette) :so don't be fooled ,it's not about white slave trade ,it's about cigarette smuggling ;the movie begins with a long depiction of Tanger,Morocco and Marseille,France .

One of the tycoon of the cigarettes traffic is induced to collaborate with the police because there are guys who work in another more dangerous field : heroin .

Michel Auclair as a smug buck is not enthusing at all ;an excellent actor when he's directed by giants (Clouzot's "Manon" ,Duvivier's "la fête à Henriette" ,Donen's "funny face ") or estimable directors (Delannoy 's "Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre" Deval's "l'invité du mardi" ) ,he's undistinguished when a drudge makes a film noir ersatz with a trite script , complete with music hall acts as the obligatory filler.

The only reason why this was restored (with difficulties :did they have to bother?) is the color process (gevacolor)-new for the time- and because Michel Audiard wrote the lines :some are not bad,but most of them are below par ;one can save the last one though.