THE FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT 5

FRENCH FILM NOIR — THE FRENETIC FIFTIES

THU-TUES, NOV 15-20, 2018  ·  ROXIE THEATRE
Presented by Mid-Century Productions

THU, NOV 15
Husbands Beware!

The Adultress

THÉRÈSE RAQUIN
THE ADULTRESS

(1953) 7:00

A Man Walks in the City

UN HOMME MARCHE DANS LA VILLE
A MAN WALKS IN THE CITY

(1950) 9:15

FRI, NOV 16
More Moreau!

Until the Last One

JUSQU'AU DERNIER
UNTIL THE LAST ONE

(1957) 7:15

The She-Wolves

LES LOUVES
THE SHE-WOLVES

(1957) 9:15

At the Little Roxie

Thanatos Palace Hotel

SURSIS POUR UN VIVANT
THANATOS PALACE HOTEL

(1958) 5:00

SAT MATINÉE, NOV 17
Marina Vlady, très jolie

The Show-Off

LE CRANEUR
THE SHOW-OFF

(1955) 1:00

Double Agents

LA NUIT DES ESPIONS
DOUBLE AGENTS

(1959) 2:45

At the Little Roxie

The Beast at Bay

LA BÊTE À L'AFFÛT
THE BEAST AT BAY

(1959) 4:15

SAT EVENING, NOV 17
Henri Vidal, mon ami!

The Strollers

QUAI DE GRENELLE
THE STROLLERS

(1950) 5:45

The Passerby

LA PASSANTE
THE PASSERBY

(1951) 7:30

Gates of Paris

PORTE DE LILAS
GATES OF PARIS

(1957) 9:30

SUN MATINÉE, NOV 18
The perils of coupling!

The Lovers of Verona

LES AMANTS DE VÉRONE
THE LOVERS OF VERONA

(1949) 1:00

Maya

MAYA

(1949) 2:45

At the Little Roxie

Sinners of Paris

RAFLES SUR LA VILLE
SINNERS OF PARIS

(1958) 4:15

SUN EVENING, NOV 18
Dizzying, dynamic Duvivier!

Under the Paris Sky

SOUS LE CIEL DE PARIS
UNDER THE PARIS SKY

(1951) 6:00

Henrietta's Holiday

LA FETE À HENRIETTE
HENRIETTA'S HOLIDAY

(1952) 8:15

MON, NOV 19
Noir reckonings!

Marie X

MARIE-OCTOBRE
MARIE X

(1959) 7:15

No Exit

HUIS-CLOS
NO EXIT

(1954) 9:00

At the Little Roxie

Thanatos Palace Hotel

SURSIS POUR UN VIVANT
THANATOS PALACE HOTEL

(1958) 5:00

TUE, NOV 20
Gabin in the 50s!

House on the Waterfront

PORT DU DESIR
HOUSE ON THE WATERFRONT

(1955) 7:00

The Possessors

LES GRANDES FAMILLES
THE POSSESSORS

(1958) 9:00

At the Little Roxie

The Beast at Bay

LA BÊTE À L'AFFÛT
THE BEAST AT BAY

(1958) 5:00

WED, NOV 21
Special Repeat in the Little Roxie!

Sinners of Paris

RAFLES SUR LA VILLE
SINNERS OF PARIS

(1958) 5:00

SUNDAY EVENING, NOV 18, 2018 DIZZYING, DYNAMMIC DUVIVIER! 

UNDER THE PARIS SKY / SOUS LE CIEL DE PARIS  6:00

Julien Duvivier, the king of "sketch" narrative in film, takes his technique to new levels of intricacy and design (even incorporating chance!) in this audacious, freewheeling collision of stories that capture an indelible constellation of Parisian life. All ages are entwined in the anarchic sprawl of life, all of it woven around the slowly escalating danger created by an unbalanced musician desperately trying to contain his murderous impulses.

Duvivier and his cinematographer Nicolas Hayer overlay breathtaking shots and a dizzying array of cuts and transitions into a story that grows dark as naturally but suddenly as day turns into night. Amongst the ensemble, Daniel Ivernel (last seen in LA PASSANTE} gives a standout performance as a doctoral candidate in mortal fear of his examinations, facing one final chance to make good.

(1951,110min)  Directed by Julien Duvivier. Scenario and dialogue by Julien Duvivier and René Lefebvre. Additional dialogue by Henri Jeanson. Photographed by Nicolas Hayer. Music by Jean Wiener. With Brigitte Auber, Jean Brochard, René Blancard, Paul Frankeur, Raymond Hermantier, Daniel Ivernel, Pierre Destailles, Jacques Clancy, Christiane Lénier, Marie-France, Marcelle Praince, Catherine Fonteney, Sylvie, André Valmy, Wanny. Voiceover by François Perier.

HENRIETTA'S HOLIDAY / LA FÊTE À HENRIETTE  8:15

Years before the New Wave began to self-famously mess with cinematic reality, Julien Duvivier found himself at a personal artistic crossroads. Torn between the glamour and glitz of comedy and the penumbral sheen of misanthropy in what we now call noir, he sought out a way to show how these competing forces actually did battle on-screen (and in his own mind!). Having just squabbled with his previous collaborator, René Lefebvre, over the tone and approach for SOUS LE CIEL DE PARIS, he struck upon the conceit of battling screenwriters with diametrically opposed approaches to film narrative. Before he knew it, he had Henrietta and her unwitting cast mates in the only meta-comic noir ever made—or is it a noir meta-comedy?

Anyway, Michel Auclair and Hildegard Knef give us the "bad," each tempting the "goody-goodys" whom they randomly encounter (Dany Robin and Michel Roux), while the battling screenwriters (Henri Cremieux and Louis Seigner) threaten to turn the story topsy-turvy as the characters spin their way erratically toward the landscape of their desires. Duvivier sizzles while Paris stays firmly on the griddle!

(1952, 111min)  Directed by Julien Duvivier. Screenplay by Julien Duvivier and Henri Jeanson. Photographed by Roger Hubert. Music by Georges Auric. With Dany Robin, Michel Auclair, Hildegard Knef, Michel Roux, Henri Cremieux, Louis Seigner, Micheline Francey, Daniel Ivernel, Odette Laure, Saturnin Fabre.