I'm very much enjoying exploring French film noir thanks to Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
Most recently I really enjoyed Lino Ventura in
THE BEAST IS LOOSE (1959), part of Kino Lorber's French Noir Collection II.
I was interested to see more of Ventura's work and chose WITNESS IN THE CITY (1959) as my next French noir, from Kino Lorber's earlier
French Noir Collection.
WITNESS IN THE CITY, known in its native France as UN TEMOIN DANS LA VILLE, begins in abruptly startling fashion, as Pierre Verdier (Jacques Berthier) throws his mistress Jeanne Ancelin (Francoise Brion) off a train to her death. This sequence takes place before the credits even roll.
Verdier gets away with not being prosecuted due to a lack of evidence, but Jeanne's husband, Ancelin (Ventura), metes out his own punishment and promptly murders Verdier.
Ancelin commits what he's planned as the perfect revenge crime, only to realize that he's been seen at the dead man's house by Lambert (Franco Fabrizzi), a taxi driver.
Ancelin quickly realizes he's also going to need to kill Lambert, as he's a witness who could place him at the scene of the murder, and so Ancelin stalks him through the streets of Paris.
I was of two minds about this film. The prolonged sequence in which Ancelin murders Verdier is
very dark, to the point I briefly fast-forwarded because it was getting to be a little much for me to watch. It's not gory, but it's disturbing.
As his plans spiral out of control, Ancelin then goes on to cause the death of other characters we've come to like over the course of the film, so it's also a tough watch in that regard.
All that said, there were also aspects I quite liked. The lighting and design of the taxi business is fantastic, and I also loved the camaraderie depicted among not just the drivers but the dispatchers, who include Lambert's girlfriend Liliane (Sandra Milo).
It's interesting that all of the dispatchers work in a circle around a large table; it seems like it would have been difficult to hear with so many people talking. However, this becomes very effective when all of the dispatchers listen to a driver's radio broadcast over a speaker, in a sequence which is both surprising and moving.
I also loved the way the taxi drivers came together to try to protect one of their own and chase down the killer.
The latter section of the film, with the taxi drivers going after the murderer, reminded me rather of M (1951), although the group chasing down a child murderer in that film was comprised of criminals. Here they're just hardworking men (plus a woman!), but the way they work together in this sequence is similarly exciting.
Ventura is as unpleasant here as he is sympathetic in THE BEAST IS LOOSE, where he's working for the government and then righteously angry as he looks for his stolen child. The initial sympathy we feel for Ventura's character as he seeks revenge on his wife's killer quickly dissipates, first due to the cruelty of his murder method and then as he seeks to kill an innocent, purely likeable young man.
Fabrizzi and Milo are appealing as the young lovers inadvertently caught up in Ancelin's plot, and the rest of the cast is good as well. I recognized Janine Darcey, who plays an observant hotel clerk, as the mother of the kidnapped little boy in
RIFIFI (1956).
In the end I felt like I will want to watch this film again, but I'll pick up the story after the killing of Verdier and skip rewatching the film's opening scenes.
Kino Lorber's
DVD print is excellent. This collection is also available on
Blu-ray.
The lone extras are a gallery of five trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.
I previously reviewed
SPEAKING OF MURDER (1957) from this set, in which Lino Ventura appears in support of Jean Gabin.
The third film in the set is BACK TO THE WALL (1958), starring Gerard Oury and Jeanne Moreau. The director was Edourard Molinaro, who as noted above also directed WITNESS IN THE CITY.
Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this DVD collection.
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