L'amant de Lady Chatterley

This first screen version of D. H. Lawrence's infamous 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' was released five years before the Regina vs Penguin Obscenity Trial of 1960 and is directed by Marc Allégret.

The trademark Gallic finesse for which this director is known is alas totally unsuited to the 'earthiness' of Lawrence's novel and one cannot help but wonder how some of his contemporaries, including his brother Yves, would have handled it.

Based upon a stage version of the novel its theatrical roots are all too apparent and even allowing for the censorship restrictions of the time this tame treatment does little justice to the original. Monsieur Allégret has avoided the erotic element and has instead chosen to concentrate on Lawrence's belief in the union of mind and body which is fair enough but for this viewer at any rate the result is anodyne.

There is no faulting the performances but the casting of Leo Genn as Sir Willoughby and Erno Crisa as Mellors simply stereotypes the phlegmatic Anglo-Saxon and the hot-blooded Latin. Having said that, Mr. Genn's portrayal of a deeply tragic character cannot fail to engage our sympathies whilst Signor Crisa is not merely a handsome hunk but possesses great sensitivity. For an Englishman Mr. Genn's command of the French language is impressive although some have found it to be incongruous in this setting. The film is essentially a vehicle for the splendid Danielle Darrieux who is luminous as Constance and whose sexuality is, as always, subdued.

Although hugely popular when released it has not stood the test of time and remains, like much of Marc Allégret's output, insubstantial.

If you're expecting the collieries and dukeries of north Nottinghamshire, no, this is a very Parisian version of D H Lawrence's landscape. The hunt, seemingly peopled by orchestral musicians, chases wild boar, the mines are remarkably clean and Wragby Hall is a chateau.

But don't dismiss this film - the themes of class, love and fidelity work in a French forest too, and a great piece of drama unfolds.

English actor Leo Genn plays the war-crippled Sir Clifford, his slow English accent increasingly infuriating as it signals a stubborn, chilling determination to maintain the class divisions of the hunting aristocracy ("The gong has gone for dinner and you haven't even dressed!"), and a dismissive indifference to the exploitation of workers and the landscape.

Lady Constance struggles to overcome her tenseness at being tutoyer-ed by Mellors, the manly gamekeeper (played by Italian Erno Crisa). But away from him her frustration shows as she restlessly rides her horse in circles. When Sir Clifford complains that she is late for the Pouring of the Tea, she snaps. "It's not a religious ceremony! The world won't collapse if I don't serve the tea!"

And if you're hoping for a bit of Bertolucci here, I'm afraid you'll have to do with the unbuttoning of the top button of Constance's blouse, but this is the wonderful Danielle Darrieux. Her expressions as she helps Mellor to push her husband's wheelchair through the woodland mud are sensuous enough for anybody.

With this film I confess I committed the greatest sin of all (when you are a true cinema lover, that is): I couldn't watch it entirely. Yes, I had to turn off my TV set after two thirds of Marc Allégret's "Lady Chatterley" -- something I am not really proud of, but forgive me, I couldn't stand it any longer.

Is there a need to tell the story in a few words? "Lady Chatterley" is probably the most famous adultery in literature (all right, all right, so I have heard about "Anna Karenina" and "Madame Bovary"!). To sum it up: Sir Clifford Chatterley, an impotent landowner, embittered by his injury in the trenches of World War I, virtually pushes his wife into an affair, but doesn't realize it's not with someone belonging to the same social class but with his common gamekeeper. The problem is that I have seen (and really enjoyed) Pascale Ferran's version shot in 2006, which is in my opinion a wonder. Allégret's "Lady Chatterley" cannot stand the comparison. Almost nothing works here. Although I usually enjoy Miss Darrieux's talent, she is terribly miscast in this film. She is believable as an aristocrat (haughty, snob, cold, etc.) but not at all as a woman who awakens to sexuality. I even wonder if she had any idea of the type of character she was playing. To put things in a nutshell: Miss Darrieux in this film is as sensual as a wood post -- it says it all. Then you don't believe a single minute that the story is set in England -- everything and all the people look so French! To make things even worse, most actors speak with a distinct Parisian accent (which was something common in French films until the end of the 50s), except Leo Genn who speaks French with an English accent, which is really odd within that context. Any coherence? Nope!!! Of course, the film strives hard to avoid overt eroticism, and by doing so, is often ridiculous and dull ("Lady Chatterley" minus all the sex? Nah!). If you really want to experience very old-fashioned nudity in a second-rate French movie, try instead "Ah, les belles bacchantes" ("Peek-a-boo") which was released the very previous year (1954) and which is almost as bad (but at least it was meant to be funny, and not only by accident!). And if you ever want to see a delicate adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's novel, watch Pascale Ferran's film instead -- please!

No one in the UK dared to attempt the impossible but Marc Allegret in France did. It may seen odd to hear the dialogue in French and to have a ( partly ) French cast but the film itself is well made in black and white, is fairly explicit sexually in its dialogue and erotic in it atmosphere, without showing the sexual acts. One example; Danielle Darrieux plays Lady Chatterley and her first glimpse of Oliver naked from the waist upwards sets the sexual tone. She shows desire, and being a great actor she makes that clear to the audience. Erno Crisa who plays Oliver is very good as well, and so is Leo Genn as Lord Chatterley who urges his wife to have sex with another man so as to produce a noble, honourable heir. He does not of course have his gamekeeper in mind. This film can be seen on YouTube with ingrained English subtitles and I urge viewers to see it. In my opinion it is the best version of D. H. Lawrence's book ( probably inspired by E. M Forster's unpublished gay novel ' Maurice ' that Lawrence had read in manuscript before he wrote ' Lady Chatterley's Lover ) and no other version since this one has been able to be as sexually explicit as the book. So for me this is a landmark film of great daring in its ability to bring to the screen a banned book in the best way that it could. One final comment. For those who consider Marc Allegret a not very good director should see his film ' Orage ' with Michele Morgan, and to make two fine films in a lifetime is an achievement.

I have always thought that Marc Allégret was less interesting than his brother Yves.Unlike him,he never made a truly memorable movie .

This adaptation of the English classic novel is enjoyable enough ,thanks to the cast:Danielle Darrieux can play (she is still playing in 2010!) anything so she is quite credible as an aristocrat;Leo Genn was an excellent Cliffords Chatterley ;the problem is that the movie is French,and although he is fluent in the Moliere Language ,he is the only one in the movie to have a British accent ,which is downright embarrassing! Another big mistake is the atmosphere of the so-called "pub" which is by no means English and looks like any French bistro/café .Erno Crisa ,who plays Oliver,has fallen into oblivion at least in France:I cannot even remember another movie he is in.

The plot is faithful to the novel,the lines are crude for the time (1955)but of course the pictures are rather chaste ,and they sharply contrast with the would be torrid passion.The Catholic Office wrote that it's just because the love scenes "were rather cold" that "they did not forbid their flock the movie" But they quickly added that such a filthy subject was to blame.What else could they do? Seen today,the movie seems tame and harmless,we have seen worse since !The other versions including nudity galore (see Just Jaeckin's "opus" 1981 )have made Marc Allégret's effort obsolete.To think that in 1934 ,in "Le Lac Aux Dames" he was not afraid to show a topless lady in a bed!

See it for Mrs Darrieux!

To my knowledge,it was the first time the novel had been transferred to the screen;it was banned in the US.