Bluebeard

Kauffmann was a distinguished critic and one I read avidly over many years. He loved this film. Out of respect for him I was curious to see it and now, I'm sorry to say, have and feel disappointed.

For one, very disappointed in Jean Rabier's flat colours - too pale orange and boring browns. The film looks like a mediocre Hollywood musical. Which is doubly sad because the costumes are spot on. One would think that with Claude Chabrol at the helm, the Belle Epoque would have been conveyed so well.

Charles Denner is a bit stiff, mannequin-like in the lead role but still impressive due to his intensity and voice. His voice, like so many first-rate French actors, is his best instrument - deep, rich, wonderful to hear. Less stiffness in body movements would have rounded out a first-class performance.

The women are wonderful - Danielle Darreaux, Michele Morgan, Catherine Rouvel, etc. Luminous and moving, even under the flat colours.

There are occasional Chabrol pleasures to be had now and then - the opening shot of Denner's head at the family dinner table followed by the WW1 newsreel, his time in bed with his lover and his walks with the other women were impressive and promised much but alas, the work felt repetitive, even predictable and never did come together for me. It felt more like a teasing theatrical matinee play than a gripping film about a notorious serial killer, caught between the beauties and horrors of his age.

At the time of the First World War, a Parisian father (Charles DENNER) murders wealthy women on an assembly line. The French director Claude CHABROL made this film in 1962. His later sharpness in many socially critical films already shines through, but this film still seems a bit too theatrical. The ladies who are chased down the chimney by Monsieur Landru are worth seeing: Stephane AUDRAN, Danielle DARRIEUX, Juliette MAYNIEL and Michele MORGAN. The German actress Hildegard KNEF (1925-2002) has a very special say in this. Her role is small but nice.

The previously missing French scenes have now been added to the German dubbed version. This also gives you more information about the trial against the convicted woman murderer.

Not a masterpiece, but definitely interesting for film enthusiasts!

Henri Désiré Landru was guillotined for the murder of ten women but this would appear to be a conservative estimate for of the 283 with whom he had correspondence, 72 were never found. During his trial the courtroom was packed with attendees, he received offers of marriage(!?) and it is said that women rushed from nightclubs whilst still in evening dress so as to witness his execution.

Landru, despite his troll-like appearance, was cultured, had a great deal of charm, was attentive to women and possessed what Shakespeare has called 'the glib and oily art' all of which enabled him to ingratiate himself with vulnerable war widows seeking companionship and security. Director Claude Chabrol has made Landru a sympathetic villain despite his unspeakable crimes and in this respect Charles Denner's portrayal cannot be faulted whilst the screenplay by Francoise Sagan guarantees the feminine point of view.

The film's lack of success probably lies in it's unevenness of tone for the irony and black humour bordering at times on the farcical are distinctly at odds with the grim material. Left-leaning Chabrol cannot resist taking his customary swipe at the bourgeoisie and as one film historian has pointed out, audiences did not care to be reminded that there was something rotten in the State of France. Despite its length many facets of the case have been glossed over.

These factors have not resulted in a bad film for there are some fine moments and engaging performances from gifted actresses who are naturally far more glamorous than the original victims.

Chabrol stated that he intended the film 'to be faithful to the legend and to be funny with it.' Therein lies the problem.

One of Chabrol first investigations of bourgeois morals was this ambitious depiction in colour of the activities of France's most notorious serial killer - who had already inspired Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux' - the failure of which would confine Chabrol to spending the next five years on journeyman work.

The scene that serves to remind you that it was the work of one of the nouvelle vague is an extended take in which the police head for the exit, pile through the wrong door and run straight into a brick wall. Any normal director would have simply done it again; but Chabrol obviously liked the effect. So in it stayed.

Faithful - but uninspired - account of the notorious Landru case, which swept over post WWWI France.

The film follows the facts closely, from Henri Désiré Landru's "family life", seductions and murders to his trial and execution. Well if your objective was to get the main details of a famous serial murder case you will be satisfied. However a film lover could have expected something more fiery, more intense, more unsettling from Claude Chabrol than just that.

To tell the truth there is more to this movie than...just that. Indeed there are good production values, fine colours, slightly stylized settings and a stellar cast. Nevertheless, I couldn't help stifling a yawn now and then.

Why so? Maybe because such great ladies as Danielle Darrieux, Michèle Morgan, Mary Marquet, or Hildegard Knef are given almost nothing to do.Only Stéphane Audran stands out in the part of Landru's naïve young mistress, Fernande.

Charles Denner, on the other hand, oddly directed by Chabrol, is a physical lookalike of the "sieur de Gambais" but fails to deliver both charm and terror.

It looks as though Claude Chabrol ,who is so at ease with what I would call "domestic" monsters ( Jean Yanne in "Le Boucher" and "Que la Bête meure", Michel Bouquet in "La Femme infidèle" and several others )was petrified by his cold-hearted, cynical monster, with absolutely no redeeming features. He did not manage to bring life to his character.

Landru, too monstrous a monster , even for Chabrol ?