Quai des Orfèvres
| Quai des Orfèvres | |
|---|---|
French film poster
|
|
| Directed by | Henri-Georges Clouzot |
| Produced by | Roger de Venloo |
| Screenplay by | Henri-Georges Clouzot Jean Ferry |
| Based on |
Légitime défense by Stanislas-André Steeman |
| Starring |
Louis Jouvet Suzy Delair Bernard Blier Simone Renant |
| Music by | Francis Lopez |
| Cinematography | Armand Thirard |
| Edited by | Charles Bretoneiche |
| Distributed by | Coronis |
|
Release date
|
3 October 1947 |
|
Running time
|
106 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Quai des Orfèvres is a 1947 French police proceduraldrama based on the book Légitime défense by Stanislas-Andre Steeman. Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot the film stars Suzy Delair as Jenny Lamour, Bernard Blier as Maurice Martineau, Louis Jouvet as Inspector Antoine and Simone Renant as Dora.
The film was Clouzot's third directorial effort, and the first after the controversy of Le corbeau. Without having the novel on hand, Clouzot and Jean Ferry based the film on memory and deviated significantly from the original story. The film was released in France and was popular with both audiences and critics. On the film's re-release in the United States in 2002, it continued to receive praise from critics as one of the director's best films.
Jenny Lamour (Delair) wants to succeed in the theatre. Her husband and accompanist is Maurice Martineau (Blier), a mild-mannered but jealous man. When he finds out that Jenny has been making eyes at Brignon, a lecherous old businessman, in order to further her career, he loses his temper and threatens Brignon with death. Despite this, Jenny goes to a secret rendezvous at Brignon's apartment. He is murdered the same evening. The criminal investigations are led by Inspector Antoine (Jouvet).
Quai des Orfèvres was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and was his first film in four years. Clouzot had been banned from film making after the controversy after the release Le corbeau and due to Clouzot's collaboration with the German-owned company Continental Films. During Clouzot's inactivity, he wrote scripts for films that were never released. He met with producer Anatole Eliacheff who offered to financially back Clouzot's next film provided that it would be a commercial film. Clouzot suggested the Belgian murder mystery Légitime défense (English: Self-Defense) by Stanislas-André Steeman which he had read during the Occupation. This production was meant to be a commission to end Clouzot's four years of enforced inactivity and take advantage of the new popular style of crime literature. Clouzot had previously written screenplays based on Steeman's work including Georges Lacombe's Le Dernier des six (1943) and his own debut, L'Assassin habite au 21 (1942). Eliacheff agreed and shortly after sold the rights to another producer, Roger de Venloo.
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