Les liens du passé

Original title: I Love Trouble

1948
16
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

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Janet Blair and Franchot Tone in Les liens du passé (1948)

Film Noir Hard-boiled Detective True Crime Whodunnit Crime Drama Mystery

P.I. Stuart Bailey is hired to investigate the past of Ralph Johnson's wife, who has gone missing. He finds that the wife left her hometown with an actor, went to college using a stolen iden... Read allP.I. Stuart Bailey is hired to investigate the past of Ralph Johnson's wife, who has gone missing. He finds that the wife left her hometown with an actor, went to college using a stolen identity, and purloined $40,000 from a nightclub.P.I. Stuart Bailey is hired to investigate the past of Ralph Johnson's wife, who has gone missing. He finds that the wife left her hometown with an actor, went to college using a stolen identity, and purloined $40,000 from a nightclub.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Trivia
Based on a magazine story by Roy Huggins, this movie provided the round-about genesis of the TV series 77 Sunset Strip (1958) (also created by Huggins). In this movie, Franchot Tone plays LA detective Stuart Bailey, which is the same name of the detective played ten years later by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in the 1958 movie Le témoin dangereux (1958), which, in turn, was spun off into the "Strip" TV series that same year. This movie was produced by Columbia Pictures, while subsequent movie and TV series were made by Warner Bros.

Goofs
Bailey's client is referred to as Mr. Johnson. In the note he shows Bailey, his name is Johnston.

Quotes
Stuart Bailey: You ever have the feeling you've been watched or followed?
Hazel Bixby: Not nearly enough.

Connections
Edited into Tep No & KT Tunstall: Heartbeat Bangs (2021)

User reviews37

Featured review

5/10

OK if you don't care whether a plot makes sense

The Big Sleep (1946) starring Humphrey Bogart created a template for what we'd now call detective noir, and the somewhat less charismatic Franchot Tone in this film assumes the role of the tough, wise-cracking but incorruptible private eye.

Some of these films' plots held together better than others. Those in the latter group, like this one, tried to make up for it by moving too fast for you to keep track.

This one touches all the bases: the seemingly routine case that leads the hero into a confused web of intrigue; the client whose motives are obscure; the detective getting beat within an inch of his life but somehow escaping and no worse for wear the next day; the guy with the gun being surprised by the guy standing behind him with a gun; and women who instantly throw themselves at the detective the moment they see him.

The film's chief distinction is the number of women in that last category. Since they all look remarkably similar and most of them seem to have at least two identities, anyone who tells you they followed the plot is either a genius or lying.

In fact, after after the plot is explained, sort of, at the end, you may feel none the wiser. I didn't, and thinking about it afterwards and reading a summary online didn't help.

So if you like the noir look and snappy dialogue, go for it. Unfortunately the only print available online has occasional sound track distortion and brief video gaps, and is definitely not HD. A clean print might be worth another star or two.