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A fantastic film, which plays with the emotions of the spectator while stunningly portraying the feelings of a pent-up man whose end echoes his pent-up life in the city. The film is beautifully shot in black and white and is a perfect example of French realism, with a modernist time disorientation tossed in for good measure. I found the performances by Jean Gabin and a showgirl with whom he gets involved (played by Arletty)to be strong, portrayed with a kind of hopeless, clutching pathos. Worth it simply for the beautifully constructed final shot.

That was one of the last French masterpieces of the thirties just before the war.Marcel Carné was accused of pessimism and the movie was quickly forbidden by the military censorship that used to say in 1940:"if we've lost the war,blame it on "Quai des Brumes""(Carné's precedent movie.The director answered:"you do not blame a barometer for the storm"). "Le jour se lève " is,if it's possible,darker than its predecessor. From the very beginning,the hero,a good guy (Gabin) is doomed,his fate is already sealed,because the tragedy has already happened .That's why the movie is a long flashback.The memories are brought back on the screen with an astounding virtuosity by some elements of the set (the teddy bear for instance).Only three main characters outside that of Gabin,the evil one (Berry who was to play the devil in "les visiteurs du soir "1942),the lucid one (Arletty) and the ambiguous one (Jacqueline Laurent).The latter provides

the only flaw of the movie:Laurent acts Françoise as the innocent pure girl,however Carné leaves no doubt about her relations with Berry. A remake was made by Anatole Litvak with Henry Fonda ,Barbara Bel Geddes and Ann Dvorak (who must have been studying Arletty's acting for a long while),called "the long night" with an absurd happy end. Needless to say,it's the French Carné movie that you've got to see!

Carne and Prevert on a roll; hot on the heels of 'Quai des Brumes' comes this, next up will be Les Visiteurs du Soir' and THAT will be followed by 'Les Enfants du Paradis'. Get out of that, John Ford/Dudley Nichols. Where do you start with something like this, someone send a Runner for a new set of superlatives. Start with the heavy? Jules Berry, they don't come any oilier, he'd already scored in a previous Prevert script, 'Le Crime du Monsieur Lange' with Renoir on bullhorn and he used this as a warm-up for his Satan in 'Visiteurs'. Arletty? Garance-in-Waiting, 'Hotel du Nord' behind her, 'Visiteurs/Enfants' to follow. Gabin? What can I say. Even Nat Cole didn't have a trio like this. To quote the title of an earlier (1935) Gabin vehicle this was truly La Belle Equipe. How Hollywood could cast Hank Fonda in the Gabin role is beyond me. Hank, 'aw shucks' Fonda, niceness personified as decent but RUGGED Gabin? Come on, already. Vincent Price plays Jules Berry? Get real! Sandy Trauner's brilliant apartment building sets the tone here from frame #1. What an opening, Jules Berry exiting Gabin's room and running out of breath. Crowd assembling. Nowhere-To-Go Gabin holed up in his 10 by 6 reminiscing in Gitane time. Never had a chance, life's a bitch and then you die. Basically that's all there is to it. But, as someone once said, it's the way you tell them. Brilliant in spades.

We see a man shot; who he is and why we don't know. The murderer has locked himself inside his room. Police are forced to shoot in, trying to get him to surrender. The story then proceeds in flashback.

Marcel Carné directs this famous French film starring Jean Gabin. The two had worked together the previous year on "Le quai des brumes", a film well known then and now. If you are unfamiliar with Gabin, he was to the late 1930's in France what Bogey would be shortly in America, only Bogey with a soupçon of Cagney. More animated than Bogart, but less than Cagney with his agile song-and-dance-man side. A tough guy who's actually a good guy.

Now, a soft-hearted tough guy who's surrounded by police -- that could also describe Bogart's breakthrough film, "High Sierra", from 1941, and perhaps there is some superficial similarity.

However, this story is mostly a tale of love affairs and working class life -- that's really where its interest lies. There's a real sympathy here for the common man, when even a modest house on a rutted street would seem beyond his reach.

This film's original reputation may have been based at least in part on its Gallic openness about sexual matters. It's quite outré by the Anglo-Saxon standards of 1939. Regardless, the justly celebrated "Le jour se lève" has a poetic quality overall, and a memorably ironic final shot of the kind we don't seem to see quite often enough anymore.

sentimental, far to be great, almost common. but seductive under the science of Carne to give delicate nuances to flash backs, to transform scenes in little gems. and, in same measure, the art of Prevert to transform each detail in a precise piece of puzzle. a film about love and innocence. about a kind of Mephisto - remarkable performance of Berry - and delicate lights of role in Jacqueline Laurent performance. but, in many aspects, a film of Arletty and Jean Gabin. not a surprise. the names of director and scriptwriter are basic guarantees for a remarkable work. but, after so many years, like many other films," Le jour se leve" has more seductive sparkles and great profound value.