Hans le marin

This movie came ten or fifteen years too late ;its atmosphere is that of the years before WW2,with shades of "Quai Des Brumes " and "Pépé Le Moko" (the gates at the harbor are pure "Pépé").Jean -Pierre Aumont,one of the romantic young leads of the thirties ("Lac Aux Dames" "Hotel Du Nord" ),plays a tough Canadian sailor called Eric (Why Hans the sailor?well see the movie and you'll know why)whose ship puts in at Marseille.What does a sailor do in these circumstances?He looks for girls and ,you would never guess it ,he meets the women of his dreams ,a beauty called Dolores(Maria Montez) .It's a mirage ,for the girl is only in it for the money.But he hangs on to his dream.It's his downfall and although a generous gypsy (German Lilli Palmer ,a highly talented actress who is totally miscast) reads in the cards the sad fate that awaits him and tries to save him in spite of himself ,the die is cast.

If you want to know the etymology of the word "tzigane" ,it is the film to watch:it means ,should we believe Tania,"liar" and it dates back a very long time ,when Jesus Christ was crucified.

Aumont wrote the dialog ,and he cast his then -wife (and very limited if very attractive actress) as the femme fatale ;as she has little to do ,she's pretty good.It's one of the two movies Montez made in France,the other one being "Portrait D'Un Assassin",a more successful attempt at a film noir

"Hans le marin" is the first cinema movie directed by François Villiers, who had already shot a few documentaries. After Hans.., he worked for TV, his second cinema movie was shot in 1958. Hans.. was supervised by Marcel Cravenne who wasn't an experienced director and who also worked a lot for tv. Jean-Pierre Aumont wrote the dialogues, and his wife Maria Montez played energic ally the fatal Dolores boozing with clients at the Kit Kat club in Marseille. The handsome Canadian sailor Eric (Aumont, but with no Canadian accent) falls in love with her but is seriously injured by a hoodlum helped by Dalio (always brilliant in that kind of coward thug). Dolores forgets him thinking he's dead and disappear. Hans has missed his boat and is now desperate, but he's helped by Tania the tzigane (Lilly Palmer half convincing with her accent and poor make up). Hans is ready to leave Marseille but by pure chance, he sees Dolores in a car. His mad love wakes up... Despite some mistakes (Aumont's French accent as a Canadian, Palmer"s German accent as a tzigane and poor make up), Hans.. is a nice blend of French "réalisme poétique" from the 30's and film noir from the 40's. Aumont is charismatic as a tough and determined sailor. All actors playing small characters are convincing. And the cinematography by Jean Bourgoin is a success with long shots, panoramics and travellings. From that same era, Hans.. makes me want to see again "Au-delà des grilles" by the great René Clément.