Portrait d'un assassin

I FINALLY got my DVD of Portrait of an Assasin today. It took a little longer than anticipated but it was well worth the wait.

This movie proves Maria Montez could act quite well, given the proper venue. Though in french, I enjoyed it thoroughly. It would have been nice had the actors had done an english version......not just dubbed by anyone. But alas it was not! Hearing Maria do french was interesting. Though handled well, you could tell it wasn't her native tongue. Unlike the French actors, she enuciated her lines so they were understandable. Personally I think the reason Maria had such a problem with her acting in her english movies is that she (undoubtly at the request of the studio) had to re-aquire her spanish accent, which she had lost years prior........Yes Virginia, Maria was faking her own accent!!!

I find it peculiar how there seems to be a problem with Maria character's name. Even the DVD cover mistakenly listed it as Catherine. Doesn't anyone ever actually view the movies before writing stuff about it?

Now Speaking of the DVD cover. WHY did they put Maria on the back of it instead of the front? She was first billed in the actual movie credits. To add insult to injury they took 2 of the supporting actors, Arletty & Von Stronheim and gave them the billing on the cover like they were the stars of it when they were NOT.........So What is up with this thing about not putting Maria on the cover of her own movies???? Arabian Nights was like this also.

There's a bit of trivia that you might find interesting about this movie. Henri Decoin wrote this movie and went on to direct L'Affaire des Poisons in 1955. A movie about Catherine DeShayes the Satanic High Priestess of 17th century Paris. It looks like the pinkie Ring Arletty was wearing thoughout the movie may have been a special one belonging to Miss DeShayes. And it is said that Maria became the owner of it after the movie was done shooting.

...You can waste your time on the other rides

But this is the nearest to being alive

Oh let me take my chances on the wall of death .

(Richard Thompson)

This is a mysterious film.The precedent user was cross cause they did not mention Maria Montez's name on the DVD or video cassette release.He must realize that it's aimed at the French market and in France ,who remembers this beautiful but limited (at least to my eyes)actress?

The French cast is a dream:first it was Arletty's comeback;after the problems she had in 1945,and the unfinished Carné's "la Fleur de l'Age,it was the first film she had made since "les Enfants du Paradis".The male cast is exciting too:Erich Von Stroheim,and two other Carné's favorites ,Pierre Brasseur and Jules Berry.

The subject is original.Brasseur portrays a stunt-man who rides his motorbike on the wall of death .He's married to Martha whose love is strong and true but he has come to hate her:he tries to kill her in the first sequence! But Martha forgives and she delivers a wonderful line"For once,the victim also provides the alibi".

Enter manager Montez:she wants the acrobat to work on a larger scale and she asks an engineer (Marcel Dalio ,who was in "la règle du jeu" and "Casablanca" )to build a huge track where the man will perform a terrifying looping the loop.

The script lacks sometimes rigor and Von Stroheim's character -a disabled man ,after working for Montez- repeats more or less the same lines every time he appears.On the other hand, Bernard-Roland perfectly captured the fair/circus atmosphere.He even hired the Fratellinis ,a famous clowns family.

Probably influenced by Carné and Duvivier,the director continued the Realisme Poétique of the pré-war years and its pessimism .He could have been a heir to that tradition,as contemporary Yves Allégret was.But he essentially worked for TV.

I must confess that I am unfamiliar with the work of director Bernard-Roland and was drawn to this purely by the tantalising cast list. Maria Montez would hardly be likely to win any kudos for her dramatic skills but she is well cast here and relishes her role. What can one possibly say about Brasseur, von Stroheim, Berry and Dalio? Consummate professionals all and blessed with that indefinable something extra. As a further bonus we have the mesmerising Arletty, indisputably one of her nation's greatest stars. Things could never be quite the same for her after the War for reasons that have been well documented but she never ceased to be great value, whatever her material.

This is a truly bizarre opus but absolutely riveting thanks to Bernard-Roland's taut direction, the score by Maurice Thiriet, cinematographer Roger Hubert's 'noirish' touches and of course its charismatic players.