Judex (1963 film)
| Judex | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Georges Franju |
| Produced by | Robert de Nesle |
| Written by |
Jacques Champreux Francis Lacassin |
| Starring |
Channing Pollock Francine Bergé Édith Scob Jacques Jouanneau Théo Sarapo |
| Music by | Maurice Jarre |
| Cinematography | Marcel Fradetal |
| Edited by | Gilbert Natot |
| Distributed by | CFFP |
|
Release date
|
France December 4, 1963 Italy July 9, 1964 |
|
Running time
|
103 min. |
| Country |
France Italy |
| Language | French |
Judex is a 1963 French-language French-Italian crime film remake of the 1916 French film serial of the same name concerning the adventures of pulp hero Judex. Directed by French filmmaker Georges Franju, the film stars Channing Pollock as Judex/Vallieres, Édith Scob as Jacqueline and Francine Bergé as Diana.
The plot revolves the banker Favraux, receiving a threatening note from Judex demanding that he pay back people he has swindled. He is later drugged by Judex and locked away. Meanwhile, the former governess, Diana, kidnaps Jacqueline to try to get the banker's money.
The production of Judex happened by chance. French writer Francis Lacassin was writing an article on French film, and while doing research he was approached by a production manager with an idea for a film, when he suggested to do a film on Judex. The story came to Jacques Champreux who was the grandson of the original creator of Judex, Louis Feuillade. Champreux has been a fan of director Georges Franju and asked him to make the film, who accepted despite having a larger desire to remake Fantômas. Franju was not very interested in the character or original story of Judex, stating that "Judex is the only film of Feuillade that isn't good Feuillade," but he wanted to recreate the film in the style of early French cinema that he remembered from his childhood. Jacques Champreux's idea for the film was to combine Franju's film style with the elements of the story in the original Judex and started writing the screenplay with that in mind. Champreux and Franju had the film open with a costume ball where everyone is wearing animal masks. This scene is influenced by French cartoonist J.J. Grandville, who depicted people with the heads of animals and birds.
...
Wikipedia