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Delightful! I'm a great fan of Jean Renoir, and I was very pleased to see this early piece as part of the excellent boxed set of 3 now available on DVD. It has its faults, but I love the way that he lets his actors "do their thing" and lives with the resultant somewhat chaotic mis en scene. The characters are great, with Jules Berry outdoing every caddish scoundrel I've ever seen on film (even including Terry -Thomas!). There's so much fun evident in the making of it, the rather slight fairy-story plot fills the bill perfectly, so it's like watching an early Hitchcock like "Young and Innocent". Lots of the same sense of fun finds its way into Renoir's later, more profound pieces like La Grande Illusion and Les Regles du Jeu, and help make those the more human by not being too sententious.

This film, shot in less than a month, contains some of the pleasures in Renoir's oeuvre. The fluid camerawork and the social satire have here, as elsewhere, rewards to yield, culminating in the 360 degree shot in the finale. Maybe the rashness accounts for flaws in the one-dimensional characters and the not so successful dramaturgy but the social messages about cooperatives, debt and exploitation are conveyed well.

It's not funny but its upbeat yet conflicted message of the hippie dream - 1930s style, plays with your emotions ultimately leaving you happier and more optimistic than before. It's not a simple story but it's put together so beautifully that it's easy to follow.

The picture this paints is of a mad muddled melange of dozens of colourful characters that somehow live as one giant happy utopian family. Once you've got used to the subtitles you're sucked into that world. Compared with American and English... and indeed most French films from this era what's remarkable about this is just how natural and realistic it is.

Besides 'Batala', the larger than life anti-hero, everyone else is just ordinary but not dull, they've all got real personalities, they're the sort of people we think we'd know if we were around then. M Lange himself, played by Rene Lefervre is convincing and endearing as the simple minded dreamer who writes the escapist Wild West comic stories. Stunningly beautiful Florelle is Lange's girlfriend who in this utopian world is not just subservient eye-candy, she's as much a part of society as any man. It's refreshing to see such an enlightened attitude in a 30s movie.

Everything about this fast-moving story seems so natural that you feel you're part of it. It's somewhere you can go to relax. M Renoir is brilliant at making his celluloid world where one man's fantasy awakens his neighbours' sense of community feel so real to us. By evoking a manufactured nostalgia and a desire for shared ideals he makes us, the audience feel like we're part of his story, which is our story. Like most good story tellers, Renoir leaves little gaps in the plot for us to insert our own characters into. This makes this very engaging.

Jean Renoir is one of the classic French directors and films like La Grande Illusion and The Human Beast show that. This film, The Crime of Monsieur Lange, is not one of the man's best films; but it's still a more than adequate example of French film-making in the 1930's. Adapted from a story by Jean Castanyer (the same man that wrote the story for Renoir's earlier film 'Boudu Saved from Drowning'), The Crime of Monsieur Lange tells the story of a man and woman that bed down in a hotel for the night. The man is recognised by the patrons as being the same man that killed another man, but before they can turn him in; the woman decides to tell the story of exactly why her man is a murderer and then let the customers decide whether or not he should be convicted. This premise offers an interesting base for a film, as themes of justice and morality can easily be tied in; but this is the film's main problem. While Renoir presents the story behind the murder in an interesting way, we never really get into whether or not the protagonist should be convicted.

The film is left open ended, probably so that the audience can 'make their own minds up' about the events; but this idea is never really explored and it's a shame because it could have presented a very interesting backbone for the movie. Quite what Renoir's intentions were for this film, therefore, are rather quite muddled. The film is never exciting enough to be considered a straight thriller, the story isn't deep enough for it to be a deep and complex drama, and we're not presented with enough themes for it to be viewed as a cross section of justice and morality. Jean Renoir seems to have been too much of a complex man to have simply intended this film as a quick Saturday-morning style drama, and themes of living in France at the time aside, that's pretty much what this is. The actual drama in the film is good, however, with the actors giving life to their characters through realistic acting. Renoir's direction is as assured and as vivacious as ever, and you really get the impression with this man that he really puts his back into making films. This certainly isn't a bad movie; but it's not great either. Most people, like me, would probably expect a little more from Renoir...but it's still worth seeing.

Hard to believe this was made in 1934. It is further ahead than movies of today by 100 years, with ideas, ironies, and characters worthy of fine literature. A classic, made by a serious filmmaker. Maybe its most distinctive feature is its seeming absolute effortlessness. It moves along at an extremely fast pace, and if you don't watch and listen, you'll miss some gems. The villain is magnificent and done with such accuracy and a complete lack of stylized fiendishness that you realize Renoir is a master of human psychology. There are many little jokes throughout--jokes and ironies that are far beyond what people say and think today. The reaction of a man to the death of a baby, the way sex among unmarried people, even very casual sex, is portrayed as utterly normal. You have the feeling throughout that you are not watching a movie but are watching some lives pass by--it is participatory rather than self-glorifying film-making (see Oliver Stone and even some Spielberg for that) But if you like Britney Spears and think Colin Farrel can act, this isn't for you.

It's a crime drama about unprincipled capitalism set in 1936 in Paris, France. Paul Batala (Jules Berry) is an unprincipled owner of a low-brow publishing company who exploits his female staff sexually and everyone financially. Mild-mannered Amédée Lange (René Lefèvre) works for Batala but also writes Western short stories featuring Arizona Jim. Valentine Cardès (Florelle), the head of the company's laundry, pursues Lange romantically. Batala is in debt to Mr. Meunier (Henri Guisol) and flees Paris on a train that experiences a crash. Batala then fakes his death by changing identities with a priest (Edmund Beauchamp).

The film opens with Lange and Cardès fleeing, and we learn Lange is charged with Batala's murder. Cardès tells the story of events at the inn near the border where they are recognized. Her narrative includes the period after Batala's initial "death," when the publishing company established a successful workers' cooperative that sells Arizona Jim stories. The movie's ending portrays the inn's patrons' decision whether to turn Lange over to the police.

"Le Crime de Monsieur Lange" is a simple story with a clear economic perspective. Social attitudes vary considerably from what Hollywood could portray at the same time. The film is primarily a period piece illustrative of pre-war French cinema. Florelle and Jules Berry are the strongest characters.

One of Renoir's best - a humanist story of worker cooperation under duress and naturally with a strong social undercurrent. It's strongly narrative following the hopes and dreams of the younger generations, contrasted with the wily and self interested actions of some of the older, more experienced characters.

The way the story is told, be beautiful cinematography all sweep you along through perfectly choreographed dramatic tableaux. With the little guy at the centre moving the action along without ever really taking center stage. Masterful.

I can't help comparing it with "It's a Wonderful Life" by Capra, because of the same "good guy versus corrupt company boss" side, and the strong social message in both. They both leave you feeling "Ah that's alright then" with faith in humanity.

So it's one of the happier Renoirs, with his trademark moral undertone.

It takes a while to locate one's bearings in this work, although that speaks to its emotional and thematic complexity. The film has the constant pace and vivacity and glee that is (stereotypically?) associated with Renoir - the film is something of a romantic whirl, with the interconnections of men and women are beguilingly dramatized in all their fleeting glory. Even the scenes with the wicked boss have an initial joie de vivre. Lange himself retains a restrained calm at the heart of it all - until he comes to illustrate the normal man who takes a desperate, self-sacrificing stand for the good of others. Although idealistic, his action resonates when offset against the explicitly cartoonish heroism of the Arizona Jim character (which we see embodied in some epically corny tableaux), and the impact thrives from being based in a muscular evocation of left-wing collectivist sympathies (a strand that comes over heavily in the almost idyllic scenes of things after the demise of the capitalist - with workers happy and lovers unfettered; although I found the very end of the film a bit puzzling).

Most of the film is in flashback and as soon as this gets under way the film seems to move at such a pace I had trouble keeping up and along the way it only gradually dawned on me it was a comedy. So, once I had sorted that out and got used to the bold and challenging edits and dissolves the film was well under way and I was playing catch up. As has been pointed out by others, looking at this today it would seem that more time than necessary is given to convincing that the old boss is bad and that it would have been good to spend more time with the good times. However, we have to allow for the fact this is almost 80 years old and those early audiences would have needed that time to be fully convinced so that the ending could be accepted. Interesting, bold, amusing and entertaining with plenty of fulsome performances.

The Jacques Prevert-Jean Renoir teaming provides for an exciting tale of murder, mens rea, judgment and justice. The narrative frame introduces the story through straightforward exposition. Great depth of field and uneven staging/blocking of characters constructs a space unobtrusively in order to make room for the free interchange of political positions of everyday people. It is difficult to deny that M. Lange isn't a call for French citizens to become politicized, but one cannot overlook the contribution of Prevert to that end. Mobile framing is employed once Florelle's character introduces the past events that led her and M. Lange into the provincial regions. The mobile framing operates to connect lives that might otherwise require the conjuring of contrived connections by the audience. The fact is that these people live and work together - that is the essence of their connection, and for Prevert (and Renoir) such a connection is enough to create a demand for respect, dignity and autonomy. Batala throws a wrench in all that good stuff and provides the catalyst for politicization. Is murder condoned in this film or is it representative of the sacrifice that will be made to take up a firm political position? (a massive issue at the time of the Popular Front) M. Lange is all about context but in the most self-reflexive manner. Even the Arizona Jim storyline has a direct conversation operating within the French film industry at the time. M. Lange isn't anachronistic but for a contemporary audience, the concept of group responsibility has distorted and perverted into an amorphous hideous blob cranking up the volume of the latest tech trinket to drown out the screams of a Kitty Genovese in the alley below. This makes M. Lange a refreshing take on politics but a depressing one, given the contemporary spectator has the foreknowledge that WWII happened and that international corporate conglomeration (Batala's wet dream) has become so dominant that an Occupy Movement on Wall Street looks more like a corporate-sponsored Hoedown-cum-Pow-Wow... and just wait for the time management game version to be released on iPhone in the next three months. If M. Lange were real life in 2013 we can be sure that Batala "getting his" would mean getting the highest amount of profit participation and controlling the creative accounting end of things when the box office closes on the film's run. It is beautiful to see a world fighting for what is right. Prevert was unabashed in that regard. Renoir was fighting for something else - both more personal and universal. In a true Renoir film, Batala would have been a more complex character... likely something between King Louis in La Marseillaise and Dede in La Chienee. That is to say, his return would be announced and his escape would be ensured at the expense of some poor bugger's own life... in a kind of reprehensible accident. What does the 360 shot mean to me? I believe that it represents a political statement about the deferral of responsibility. The Lange and Batala roles are a clever reversal of the real issue... where do you stand against the threat of fascism that will soon begin stomping faces (which it did in abundance).

This and 'La Vie est a nous' from the same year, mark Jean Renoir's flirtation with Left-wing politics and very much reflect the prevailing mood of the time as the election of the Front Populaire had given the French a feeling of optimism. Suffice to say this euphoria was short-lived as the Socialist/Communist coalition proved utterly ineffectual.

Not only does 'Le Crime de Monsieur Lange' convey it's message with far greater subtlety than its companion piece, it's sheer exuberance is infectious.

Renoir has encouraged his cast to improvise which in conjunction with his use of continuous takes and deep focus camerawork gives the piece both immediacy and spontaneity. There is a distinctly collaborative feel here as many members of the cast as well as brilliant scénarist Jacques Prévert and composer Joseph Kosma belonged to the Left-wing 'October' Group.

The linchpin of the film is the personification of Good vs. Evil in the characters of Lange and Batala, superbly played by René Lefevre and Jules Berry. Lefevre is of course perfect casting as Everyman whilst Berry once again utilises his Mephistophelean persona to great effect and is the perfect combination of villany and charm. This immensely stylish artiste traditionally gave the appearance of improvising which stemmed from his being unable to remember his lines. On the distaff side there are enchanting performances from Florelle who gives a gorgeous rendition of Kosma's chanson and the always fascinating Nadia Sibirskaya, best known for her early films with her husband, director Dimitri Kirsanoff.

Renoir's fluid direction and the commitment of its participants have given us a thoroughly engaging and uplifting piece whilst on a purely technical level, the astonishing 360-degree pan when Lange 'executes' Batala is justly renowned.

Since on early phase of his extensive career Jean Renoir didn't make any noise at box office, so Le Crime de Monsieur Lange wasn't different, it was previously masterminded by his closest friend Jacques Prévert who last-minute was replaced by someone bigger, then the direction caught at Jean Renoir's hands, therefore Prévert stayed angry by sudden decision, even so both maintained the old friendship unspoiled, the conceptive idea of a kind of communist setting concerning the insight of cooperative society where the big-Boss is abolished for good.

Actually the publish Boss is exposed in worst manner as possible, he is bad payer, swindler and womanizer and misleading everyone involved at your side including the naïve sponsors, meanwhile their employers have been a hard time with the crook Boss, when he ends up dying in train crash all employers joint together and undertake the business by their own, in fact who stolen the picture is the colorful character Batala played by Jules Berry as the swindler persona, a marvelous tragic-comic offering, be ready to die laughing, a true gem of the past!!

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 2025 / How many: 1 / Source: Cable DVD / Rating: 8.