The Road to Corinth

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)

Even if he had the greatest longevity among the Nouvelle Vague crowd, Chabrol's work tends to be erratic - but, at his best (usually when directing psychological thrillers), he was up there with Hitchcock and Lang.

This was a film I had missed out on previously so, when it turned up again recently on late-night Italian TV, I made sure to catch it this time. Despite its credentials, it doesn't have a very good reputation and, watching it now, I can well understand why! The muddled storyline makes for an espionage thriller that's somewhat dreary (with the titular device serving as the proverbial "McGuffin"); nevertheless, it definitely benefits from a good cast (an appealing Jean Seberg, Christian Marquand, a rather glum-looking Saro Urzi, Chabrol himself in a small but important role - which, at one point, sees him disguised as a Greek Orthodox priest! - as well as regulars Maurice Ronet and Michel Bouquet - the latter, perhaps, coming off best of all), the lush cinematography of Greek locations (courtesy of Jean Rabier) and Pierre Jansen's lively score. Its tongue-in-cheek approach helps, too, resulting in the occasional amusing moment or quip (though the film never quite descends to the camp level of, say, MARIE-CHANTAL VS. DR. KHA [1965]).

All things considered, then, a very minor Chabrol which, interestingly enough, directly preceded LES BICHES (1968) - the film which heralded his greatest period (one that would last, more or less, till 1975's INNOCENTS WITH DIRTY HANDS). WHO'S GOT THE BLACK BOX? is out on R1 DVD through Pathfinder - but the company's hit-and-miss record and the disc's own bare-bones status don't give it much hope of an eventual purchase from me (unless they stick it in another Box Set somewhere down the line, though it seems that the only other title they have released outside of the already-existing 8-Disc Collection - and which I've been pondering about picking up for ages! - is PLEASURE PARTY [1975], available as a stand-alone SE)...

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.

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.

Enemy agents have been jamming NATO radar signals with mysterious "black boxes" that they have planted around various locations in Greece. American agent Bob Ford (who speaks with a perfect French accent) is killed while hot on the trail of the nefarious enemy agents. His widow Shanny, despite warnings from fellow American agent Dex, vows to avenge his killing and locate the "black boxes."

Claude Chabrol claimed his LA ROUTE DE CORINTHE was homage to Alfred Hitchcock. The film does vaguely resemble Hitchcocks NOTORIOUS with the "black boxes" serving as "the McGuffin." The film is also typical of 60's spy movies in that it features cartoonish bad guys. Jean Seberg is lovely as the brave avenging widow who gets in and out of many scrapes through out the course of the film. The films Greek locations give the film much visual interest. LA ROUTE DE CORINTHE is a competent and fairly enjoyable 60's spy thiller but it is also undistinguished.