Assassinio a 45 giri

This movie is not the best adaptation of a Boileau et Narcejac book because of Périer's weak direction, but the mysterious story is still strong enough with the 45 t record gimmick and there are Darrieux, Auclair and Servais. Very far from being a masterpiece, it's still entertaining. From Boileau and Narcejac at that time, try "Maléfices" by Decoin, his last good noir movie.

This French noir is a B film similar to the American ones of the period, although France is not a country we normally associate with B pictures. It was the second feature film directed by the bilingual Belgian director, Etienne Périer. Périer is best known for two English language blockbusters which he directed in 1971: WHEN EIGHT BELLS TOLL and ZEPPELIN, both of which were hits at the time. Ten years earlier, in 1961, he directed BRIDGE TO THE SUN with Carroll Baker, set in Japan. He was thus equally at home with French language and English language films. This French film is available on DVD in a dubbed version, and no subtitled version appears to exist. The film is chiefly of interest because it stars Danielle Darrieux. The story of the film is based upon the novel A COEUR PERDU jointly written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, who made film history as the authors of the novel filmed by Alfred Hitchcock three years earlier as VERTIGO (1958). This film was remade in 1994 under the title MEURTRE EN MUSIQUE (MURDER BY MUSIC), by the French Canadian director Gabriel Pelletier. The story involves the unhappy marriage of Darrieux to an egotistical husband played by Jean Servais, and her affair with a young pianist. (Darrieux is a popular singer and her husband composes the songs.) The husband is jealous and plots entrapments and revenge, but then is apparently killed in a car crash. However, he then comes back to life and starts claiming in 45 rpm sound recordings that he faked his death and is watching Darrieux's ever move. Everything becomes very complex, especially as the husband had a business partner with shady motives. All of the people in the story are rather unpleasant, one has no sympathy for any of them, and the story is therefore unrewarding because who cares what happens to any of them anyway, But nevertheless, for those interested in the noir genre, I would say that this French film of 1960 is a conscious attempt by the French to imitate the postwar American noir films, and it partially succeeds in doing so. For people interested in the history of the cinema, that is reason enough to be aware of it or even to watch the film.

My review is of the English-dubbed version of this film, entitled MURDER AT 45 RPM (interestingly, Reed Hadley seems to be voicing at least one if not two characters in the English-dubbed version). As a fan of murder mysteries, I must give this thumbs up. You are provided with a small group of suspicious characters, an interesting mystery that goes way beyond "who killed whom", and the usual French technical virtuosity and spiritual malaise. Serious mystery fans will probably place this on the same shelf with PLEASE MURDER ME and THE NIGHT WALKER, and it's as clever as either of those gems. I also like the fact that the writers of the film have constructed it in such a way that you really don't know if the victim is even dead until the film's final scene...which is AFTER the "resolution" of the crime! There are nice ironic twists throughout, but in unexpected ways. Overall, a nice little genre film that the serious murder mystery fan is sure to enjoy.

When Boileau-Narcejac heard that Hitchcock wanted to transfer "celle qui n'était plus" (" Diabolique") to the screen,they made a lot of books on the same pattern:the dead might not be dead.It gave a masterpiece "Vertigo" (title of the book:"d'entre les morts" (=from the dead))and "a coeur perdu" which Etienne Perier transferred to the screen as "Meurtre en 45 tours" .

Darrieux's husband was killed in a car crash (accident? murder?)and did he really die?.The lady and her lover (Auclair) receive 45pm records ,with the dead's voice which threatens them "I'll come back...I'll come back".Pictures and photographs of the hubby which appear now and then are quite disturbing.

Actually this is one of the weakest Boileau-Narcejac's stories.You'll guess the culprit's name before the end .Add some very bland songs (Darrieux plays the part of a Chanteuse) and a captain not unlike Charles Vanel's in " Diabolique".

Etienne périer would continue in the detective film with such works as "la main à couper" or "Un Meurtre est un Meurtre".None of those works are particularly memorable.

Another one in the long line of triangular thrillers made in the wake of "Diabolique" (1955), "Murder at 45 RPM" is expertly directed, but the plot is pretty transparent; after all, there isn't exactly a wealth of characters to spread your suspicions upon. Danielle Darrieux looks stunning, maturing like wine of the finest quality. **1/2 out of 4.