With hindsight , it's easy to divide Henry Decoin's into three parts :the 1933-1941 years which essentially consist of charming comedies (" battements de coeur" "abus de confiance " premier rendez-vous ")in which his then-wife Danielle Darrieux shone; these efforts are among the best of the genre in France; the 1942-1954 era which were the film noir time , Decoin was at his most brilliant ("non coupable" " la fille du diable" "la vérité sur Bébé Donge" "les inconnus dans la maison ".)
Then the final years in which the director would direct anything : historic flicks ("l'affaire des poisons" " le masque de fer") , mediocre thrillers (with the exception of "maléfices" ),the obligatory resistance movie ( "la chatte ") and comedies again. But he was a spent force .
"Nathalie " (1956) was a box-office triumph and served to recharge Martine Carol's career ; the first adventures of this Nathalie Princesse (a nod to Diana Prince?), a haute couture mannequin turned secret agent (reluctantly to hear her talk) were directed by her then-husband Christian -Jaque. They would divorce in 1959,so the sequel went to Decoin who was ,like his dialogue- writer Henri Jeanson,the ghost of himself .
Decoin tried to blend comedy with film noir ( he had brillantly pulled it off in " retour à l'aube" (1938) and "les amants du pont-saint-jean " (1947) .Here he failed dismally ;the comedy is repetitive , derivative,and not funny at all ,with actors hamming it up all along the way; the murder mystery when time comes for the "explanation" does not interest the viewer anymore ; even Decoin's flair for film noir is inefficient in the dramatic scenes which come at the most awkward moment in this cock and bull story dealing with an atomic engine invented by Noel Roquevert ,the only talented comic actor of the cast .
