Les cinq gentlemen maudits

Five gentlemen are enjoying a cruise on René Lefèvre's recently inherited fortune. Along the way they meet Harry Baur and his niece, Rosine Deréan. Soon she and Lefèvre are an item. When the ship hits Morocco, they get off to look at the locals; Lefèvre accidentally removes a girl's veil, and a sorcerer curses them. By the full moon they will all be dead in a particular order. Sure enough, they start dying as indicated.

Julien Duvivier's potboiler has a lot of local color shot in Fez and Volubilis, and I couldn't help thinking about the setting of PEPE LE MOKO. However, despite the North African setting and the presence of a curse, there's no real sense of poetic realism, no femme fatale, and no fatality based on character. Things happen, yes, but there's a straight causal linkage without any sense of a higher power. There is Baur, who gives a wonderful, naturalistic performance, whether he's shouting at the housekeeper, mixing a weird cocktail, or saying they can just pay off the sorcerer for three francs..... maybe 3.75.

...first you,then you,then...and you the last!In Morocco where they spend their vacation,one of the five gentlemen of the title tries to take off a young Moroccan girl's veil:up comes the sorcerer;he's cross and he curses the unfortunate young lads:before the full moon.... And they begin to die indeed:one gets drowned,the second is killed in a plane wreck,the third is stabbed to death in Volubilis ruins.... And then there were two...

Might the curse be true?

French critics generally hate this movie.Personally I love it.Call it Duvivier's holiday homework.He made the best of the splendid Moroccan landscapes .It was generally filmed on location and often seems like a blueprint for works to come,the celebrated "Pepe le Moko"notably :the aerial photographs of the roofs ,the hero ,more and more scared ,in the alleys of Fez (and Duvivier 's directing is as inventive as ever),the final chase where all the inhabitants of the town are involved .

The script is so exciting they could redo!Even the final unexpected twist,a thing that is so trendy nowadays, is present .And even if there are plot holes,do not forget it was filmed in 1931!

Harry-Baur's part is completely pointless,that's the main drawback.But all that remains will appeal to people who enjoy mystery,adventures comic strip and exoticism.