La chatte

it is her film. and that is the basic virtue of Henri Decoin and, maybe, the key of success for the movie. Francoise Arnoul has the science to explore the clichés and the tricks of the classic film noir lead heroine from innocence to seduction and her performance is admirable for the gift to save a not realistic script and to give to a war story not exactly credibility but new nuances. her eyes, her vulnerability, her cold blood, the love story as a sketch, like entire film, in fact, are pieces for a nice show and a seductive work. part of post-war French cinema about the Resistance, it reminds methods and styles of many better movies. and that is, in same measure, a precious gift.

it is nothing more than a sketch. sketch of a film noir.same rules. same clichés. and the only special nuance is the presence of Francoise Arnoul. the presence more than acting. because it is not exactly a story about French Resistance but a kind of...drawing. nice, seductive, interesting as support of many similar scenes. and explanation for its success. after decades, it remains only one of the films who preserves a delicate flavor. this is a virtue. but not more to be , after a new view, a sort of historical document, proofing the skills of director, the magnetism of the lead actress, the dialogues and the eroticism, the fight of Maquis and its perception after the cinema after the second World War.

Henry Decoin is to be commended for almost transcending the limitations he's working under:an implausible Resistance story like countless other ones during those immediate post-war years.It reveals ,not unnaturally,producing what Decoin produces best:film noir.No matter it's not a thriller;the treatment is pure film noir.

The black and white cinematography,where the characters move in twilight,the skillful lights,the minimal performance of Françoise Arnoul,all dressed in black leather,from whom a shady sensuality emanates ("Katze Augen"(cat's eye) the German officer says)make up for the rather poor script.The content takes a back seat to form that can be brilliant:the maquis,attacked by the German soldiers,in the darkest forest;Cora (la chatte) trying to poison her lover ,a scene which would not be irrelevant in a suspense movie;the final scene which might have influenced Jean-Pierre Melville for his earnest "l'armée des ombres" (1969) (think of Simone Signoret's death ).Cora's questioning which turns into an erotic extravaganza as the actress slowly removes her stockings,under the officer's lecherous eye.

"La chatte" was a great commercial success,and despite the ending ,there was a sequel "la chatte sort ses griffes" two years later.

Francoise Arnoul plays a French resistance heroine with bewitching sexy eyes just about says it all. The flimsy story hangs limply around her performance, which managed to update the War to include a feisty Bardot-like character for a new generation.

An alluring and compact young patriot Cora is used by the Resistance to steal the Nazis plans for a new rocket but she unwittingly falls in love with a tall German spy Bernard, and vice versa; somewhat as a slinky Cat and a faithful Dog. Will Love conquer All or be conquered by War? It's all done nicely and cheaply and the grimy monochrome photography, sets and acting are passable, the music sounds like sci-fi FX only because there was no budget and not to lend period atmosphere – it's just the plot was rather feeble. If it was meant for a deep probing of relative human moral values under internal and external stress then it was far too superficial – and almost as if they were making it up as they went along.

To whom would this film appeal to in the main? As still being a red-blooded male I have to admit that if it hadn't been for Arnoul I probably wouldn't have bothered with it at all – and I almost switched it off after a few doses of director Henri Decoin's personal perversions sledgehammered out by Gestapo and Resistance alike. He made quite a few good films in the discipline of the Golden Age, especially a handful starring his then wife Danielle Darrieux - with this though he gave me the overwhelming impression of a dirty old man director and Arnoul apparently only too eager as usual to co-operate. But again I regret to admit I was extremely interested to know where she was supposed to be hiding the flashlight radio! Sadly the only things the film has left me wondering is can a tub of alcohol really burn with vim for hours on end and how on Earth does the sequel pick it all up again? Overall though, an interesting time-passer.

Dark, bleak and intense French Resistance drama that pulls no punches. LA CHATTE (THE CAT) deserves to be better known. Shot in the style of film noir with an excellent cast and script by director Henri Decoin, Jacques Rémy and Eugène Tucherer, on a novel by the latter. A forerunner of Melville's L'ARMÉE DES OMBRES (1969) if not quite the equal of that masterpiece. Highly recommended.