La Nuit des traqués

LA NUIT DES TRAQUÉS (NIGHT OF THE HUNTED) starts off a bit shaky, with juvenile delinquent characters typical of 50s films. But when a major dramatic event takes place it goes into high gear and does not let up. A tale of fate getting the best of a careless youth and infecting others in his life. Very suspenseful and intriguing at times, it's a real 'hidden gem'.

One reason for its relative obscurity may be a lack of major stars, but the young actors are more than adequate: Sami Frey, Claude Titre and Juliette Mayniel are all very well cast. The locations are extremely evocative of a port city --Anvers (Antwerp) in Belgium--with dark alleys and rain-soaked streets; the waterfront in particular has a terrific noir atmosphere. All beautifully shot in b&w, and well directed by somewhat obscure Bernard-Roland. There's even a song written and sung by Charles Aznavour. This is an excellent, if minor, film noir that should be better known.

After "Portrait D'un assassin " , it took Bernard-Roland a decade to make another movie;against all odds, it's an interesting film noir,reflecting the era zeitgeist .

Youth left to their own devices was a subject the French cinema (probably influenced by Ray's "rebel without a cause " ) often tackled in the late fifties / ealy sixties ; whereas the nouvelle vague introduced middle-class characters ("les quatre cents coups""les cousins" ) the others concentrated on working class "heroes ":Robert Hossein ("pardonnez nos offenses" ) ,Marcel Carné ( " terrain vague" and even "les tricheurs" in which the heroine tries to move in rich kids circles to escape from her modest background), and the overlooked Hervé Bromberger ( "les fruits sauvages" "les loups dans la bergerie")

"La nuit des traqués " belongs to this tradition ;one can wonder why the action takes place in Antwerp (maybe a nod to Yves Allégret 's "Dédée d'Anvers" ) whereas the whole cast is French or Italian ( Folco Lulli ); but it enables the director to film gloomy filmed-on-location night scenes in the harbor where anything can happen .

A young man ,Victor(Samy Frey ,then 22,and the only youngster who would enjoy a successful career later on)is part of a pack under a hoodlum's thumb :this sinister-looking gangster is an updated Dickens ' Fagin who resells the stuff his "protégés" steal ;he's hard on them if they do not bring back something valuable ;an cruel,at that ,because he wants to butcher the hero's pet monkey ;having accidentally killed this sinister-looking person , Victor's going to bump into smugglers on the harbor.

The unfortunate boy does not seem to have parents ,and can only rely on his sister and her fiancé ;they will have to grow up overnight and face hard realities:the night is dark in Antwerp harbor ,and the adults are living threats from the policeman to the vile fat blackmailer .The abrupt ending avoids the easy way of the happy end .

Charles Aznavour sings the aptly named 'protège--moi" (=protect me ) ; there's also a guest appearance by pop singer Danyel Gerard who would have a big hit circa 1970 with "butterfly" .