Tonight's Movie: Rhine Virgin (1953) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

I recently reviewed the first film in Kino Lorber's reissue of their three-film French Noir Collection.

That film, SPEAKING OF MURDER (1957), starred Jean Gabin and was directed by Gilles Grangier.

Last night I dipped into the brand-new French Noir Collection II, also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and watched RHINE VIRGIN (1953).

RHINE VIRGIN, titled LA VIERGE DU RHIN in its native France, also stars Gabin and was directed by Grangier.

Thanks to these films and Kino Lorber's single-title release of HI-JACK HIGHWAY (1955), aka GAS-OIL, I've developed quite an appreciation for the Gabin-Grangier collaborations. Happily, I have many more of their joint films to explore, as they worked together a dozen times.

RHINE VIRGIN is the name of a barge which takes on Martin Schmidt (Gabin) as a last-minute crew member for a trip to Strasbourg.

Schmidt is actually Jacques Ledru, who was reported missing during the war.

Years after the war has ended, Jacques is now finally able to return to Strasbourg and investigate the fate of his shipping company, which was taken over by his wife Genevieve (Elina Labourdette) and her new husband (Renaud Mary) in his absence.

Genevieve and her husband might resort to murder to rid themselves of Jacques, who is aided by his firm's loyal secretary Anna (Andree Clement) and also Maria (Nadia Gray), the daughter of the barge captain.

RHINE VIRGIN was an entertaining 82 minutes, written by Jacques Sigurd based on a novel by Pierre Nord.

Gabin is a compelling actor, and I also especially enjoyed Albert Dinan as the cagey police inspector and Clement as the secretary, who is so loyal to Ledru she had me wondering if she would kill for him!

One of the intriguing aspects, as alluded to above, is there's a murder but the audience doesn't know "whodunit" and learns right along with Jacques.

The pace could have moved at a somewhat faster clip near the end as the mystery is solved, but that's my only criticism of a solid story which I enjoyed watching. There's a nice touch of romance along with the murder and intrigue, creating a well-rounded and interesting tale.

Extensive location photography in Strasbourg and on the Rhine, filmed in black and white by Marc Fossard, adds another note of interest.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray is from a 4K restoration. The black and white is crisp and looks great throughout.

This film is part of a two-disc, four-film set with a cardboard slipcase. This film contains a commentary track by Heath Holland and Max Allan Collins, plus the trailer and a gallery of five additional trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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