Le dernier tournant

Rootless Fernand Gravey bums a meal off gas station/cafe owner Michel Simon. Simon takes a liking to him and offers him a job handling the pumps at night. Gravey isn't interested until he sees Simon's wife, Corinne Luchaire. Soon they are hot and heavy with each other, and start to think about killing the clueless, disgusting Simon.

It's the first movie version of James M. Cain's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, and it's far more frank about what's going on and the weakness of Gravey and Luchaire. Simon plays one of his monsters, a man who disgusts his wife, whines, and loves everyone indiscriminately. Charles Spaak's script is capably brought to the screen by Pierre Chenal.

For all those who have cars, please drive carefully and not like the lunatic that is Fernand Gravey (Frank) in this film. He is an unpleasant drifter who arrives at an isolated petrol station and stays on to help with the business on the request of owner Michel Simon (Nick). Simon is lonely and wants a friend to talk to. He has a much younger attractive wife - Corinne Luchaire (Cora) - but that doesn't count for company does it! The only reason Gravey accepts this offer is because of the much younger attractive wife. I think we can see trouble brewing....

The cast are good apart from Gravey who is not good at all in the lead role mainly due to his unpleasant nature. You just cannot relate to him and he doesn't seem to be able to produce any acting nuances that could help build tension. He's just a straightforward arse-hole.

The language in this film is funny as the dialogue is very direct. These people say what they feel - ha ha. My wife particularly enjoyed the lines as spoken by Luchaire when she tells Gravey that she is beginning to like him less and less. I hear this on a regular basis!

We get a body count that seems disproportionately high given the number of characters we are introduced to. The introduction of judge Marcel Vallée and the blackmailing cousin Robert Le Vigan add to the tension as they both have suspicions about the actions of Gravey and Luchaire. The film unfolds as a tragedy and is an enjoyable first run of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice'.

The first of the four versions of "postman always rings twice" is not uninteresting.Its main asset is Michel Simon's presence:he was one of the greatest French actors ever and he easily outshines Fernand Gravey and Corinne Luchaire as the lovers and all the other actors who would take on the hubby's part.It does not cut,however,Visconti's version and even Tay Garnett's in my humble opinion;on the other hand ,I've always thought that the Rafelson Nicholsonesque version was overblown and the weakest of the lot.

Pierre Chenal would never equal this success:the end of his career never finds back the noir atmosphere of his pre-war movies."La foire aux Chimères" ,his chef d'oeuvre, was a different matter.

Its not widely known..but "le dernier tournant" has been the First Adaptation of James M Cain Novel 's "Postman always ring twice" and by far the best..Just watch France Greatest Actor Michel Simon play !! the movie came out immediately before Nazis occupied France and the Sensual Corinne Luchaire was sadly thrown in jail after 1944 because of her father's German sympathy...Still it is even better than the Visconti 'Ossessione so you musn't miss this one !

The last line of the movie : "Le jour se lève." (=it's daybreak ) ; it is also the title of Marcel Carné's 1939 masterpiece .It won't be lost on a 2020 audience who knows both works.

Both really fit into the black picture of the situation of the country in 1939;both works were blacklisted by the office catholique du cinema ;Carné's work was even forbidden by the military censorship as demoralizing.

Chenal's work has to be upgraded : it was not the first time he had broached film noir (see "La maison du maltais " and "l'alibi") ,but it was the apex of his pre-war years ;five years after being published in the US ,it took a lot of guts to transfer such a filthy story to the screen; its atmosphere surpasses that of Tay Garnett which looks almost "hollywoodian" compared to it : a murky one ;although the action takes place in the south of France ,never some sunlight does break through on this dark gloomy gas station,even after the owner's death ,or should I say mainly after the murder ; the scene when the couple dances a valse musette to the tune of Simon's accordion looks almost like a danse macabre ;it should be a joyful relief , it's painful to watch.

Of course Michel Simon is prodigious ,but Corinne Luchaire also rises to the occasion ; her playing was modern for the time and she easily outclasses glamorous Lana Turner .Her Cora seems unable to react to events ,she had never been happy (she told it so to Frank) and she knew she never would .She seems to be living in a dream (or a nightmare ) in the "accident" scene . Gravey ,on the other hand , is just okay ,and John Garfield would outshine him.

This movie and "La Foire Aux Chimères" (1946) are Chenal's towering achievements ;in both movies , a man (Simon in this one, Von Stroheim in the other one) is victim of a femme fatale (who is also a victim herself ).

Corinne Luchaire's fate was as cruel as Cora's.