Quand la femme s'en mêle

Alain Delon made his film debut at the age of 21 in this film, translated as Send a Woman when the Devil Fails, I believe. The strict translation is When a Woman Gets Involved. I suppose either one would do. I had to watch this in French without subtitles as it was all I could find at the time.

Set in Paris, the film is about Henri Godot, (Jean Servais) who owns a nightclub. He hires a young man named Jo (Delon) to kill Boby (Yves Deniaud). Meanwhile, Angele (Edwige Feuillere), Henri's mistress, is hanging around as well.

Then Felix (Bernard Blier) arrives in Paris, meanwhile, with his daughter (Sophie Daumier) by his first wife. He is there to take vengeance for the death of his second wife in a fire that was arson. Jo and the daughter, Colette, fall for one another, which causes some problems. And when the killings begin, a police detective (Pierre Mondy) comes around.

The director, Yves Allégret, enjoyed a successful career, but he was on a downslide by the time this film came along. He unsuccessfully tried to mix noir and comedy. I found this film unimpressive, except for the fact that it is Delon's first appearance on screen.

This film also gave early roles to Bruno Cremer and Sophie Daumier, so there are two generations of film actors. The seniors, particularly Servais and Fuilliere are excellent. Baby-faced Delon in a supporting role starts his 50+ year career as a romantic, cool, but dynamic killer who is still getting his sea legs.

At one point, while enjoying ice cream with Colette, he spots a car that has been following them. He runs out; Colette hears two shots. Jo re-enters, sits down, and continues eating as if he just put a quarter in a parking meter.

The end of the film is ambiguous. I felt ambiguous about the whole movie myself.

"Quand la Femme S'En Mêle " is some kind of who's who of the FRench cinema of the era: Bernard Blier,Edwige Feuillère,Jean Servais,Jean Lefèvre,two promising young actors,Alain Delon and Bruno Cremer,not to mention the girl who's the young romantic lead ,Sophie Daumier (later known as Guy Bedos's partner),and many more.

The film itself is quite undistinguished .The director ,Yves Allegret,one of the French past masters of films noirs ,was the ghost of himself in 1957."Une Si Jolie Petite Plage" "Dédée d'Anvers" "Manèges" and "Les Orgueilleux" ,all made in the early fifties/Late forties seemed very far away.His 1957 effort is neither a comedy -although some of its lines are funny enough(Daughter:Mom,there are two dead bodies on the street ;Mother:darling,it's common in Paris!)- nor a film noir .Allégret tried to mix the genres and the results are not convincing.Sometimes,Edwige Feuillère's character recalls that of Jenny played by Françoise Rosay in Marcel Carné's eponymous movie (1936).Nowadays ,it's Delon's presence which attracts the viewers.They'd better choose René Clément's "Plein Soleil" instead.

I prefered Jean Servais for Tony Le Stephanois role in RIFIFI, adapted from an Auguste Le Breton's novel. This one is also a crime film about the underworld, and adapted from a Jean Meckert - Amila - book. But Amila was not Le Breton, who knew perfectly the underworld in Paris. Amila - Meckert- was specialized in social dramas involving simple folks fighting against powerful and nasty governments and companies that finally smashed them. Amila was not a specialist of the underworld. That said his novel which this film is inspired was cute, the characters interesting. Concerning that, the movie here is faithful to the book. But it remains forgettable, and Yves Alllegret had not the skills of Jules Dassin for RIFIFI, which was tough, rough, brutal, unlike this one, a smooth crime film compared to RIFIFI. But Alain Delon in a supporting character is always unavoidable. Alain Delon ten years before LE SAMOURAI and in a character whose sidekick is no one else than Jean Lefebvre.... I can't believe it.

This film is of interest only in so far as it typifies what a capable director and an excellent cast can do with inferior material. Here Yves Allegret whose best films were behind him with nothing better alas to come, has the services of some of France's finest, namely Jean Servais, Bernard Blier and the magnificent Edwige Feuilliere. Playing a baby-faced killer is Alain Delon whose air of mystery and unpredictability is evident in this his film debut. The problem is that the film cannot make up its mind whether it wants to be a comedy-thriller or film noir and ends up being neither. However the mis-en-scene, production values and fascinating cast hold the attention so one should not be too dismissive.

A nearly teenager Delon, his first role in a feature film. Many other very good actors, Bernard Blier, Bruno Cremer, to name the best of them, but the movie is very weak. The script and direction leave much to be desired.