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Le livre noir

Original title: Reign of Terror
  • 1949
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
Le livre noir (1949)
Costume DramaPolitical ThrillerDramaHistoryRomanceThrillerWar

Robespierrre, a powerful figure in the French revolution, is desperately looking for his black book, a death list of those marked for the guillotine.Robespierrre, a powerful figure in the French revolution, is desperately looking for his black book, a death list of those marked for the guillotine.Robespierrre, a powerful figure in the French revolution, is desperately looking for his black book, a death list of those marked for the guillotine.

  • Director
    • Anthony Mann
  • Writers
    • Philip Yordan
    • Æneas MacKenzie
  • Stars
    • Robert Cummings
    • Richard Basehart
    • Richard Hart
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    2.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Anthony Mann
    • Writers
      • Philip Yordan
      • Æneas MacKenzie
    • Stars
      • Robert Cummings
      • Richard Basehart
      • Richard Hart
    • 59User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos124

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    Top cast46

    Edit
    Robert Cummings
    Robert Cummings
    • Charles D'Aubigny
    Richard Basehart
    Richard Basehart
    • Maximilian Robespierre
    Richard Hart
    Richard Hart
    • François Barras
    Arlene Dahl
    Arlene Dahl
    • Madelon
    Arnold Moss
    Arnold Moss
    • Fouché
    Norman Lloyd
    Norman Lloyd
    • Tallien
    Charles McGraw
    Charles McGraw
    • Sergeant
    Beulah Bondi
    Beulah Bondi
    • Grandma Blanchard
    Jess Barker
    Jess Barker
    • Saint Just
    Walter Bacon
    • Citizen
    • (uncredited)
    Ray Bennett
    Ray Bennett
    • Robespierre's Shooter
    • (uncredited)
    Chet Brandenburg
    Chet Brandenburg
    • Citizen
    • (uncredited)
    Ralph Brooks
    • Citizen
    • (uncredited)
    William Challee
    William Challee
    • Bourdon
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Conlan
    • Gatekeeper
    • (uncredited)
    Clancy Cooper
    Clancy Cooper
    • Saint Just's Sentry
    • (uncredited)
    Wade Crosby
    Wade Crosby
    • Danton
    • (uncredited)
    Mary Currier
    Mary Currier
    • Mme. Duval
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Anthony Mann
    • Writers
      • Philip Yordan
      • Æneas MacKenzie
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews59

    6.92.2K
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    Featured reviews

    LACUES

    An intriguing movie

    This is a low budget masterpiece, far more intriguing and suspenseful than most epic films dealing with the same subject. The film noir quality and acting are superb. As mentioned earlier, T-Men also made by the low budget studio Eagle-Lion, were and are memorable films. The cast is first rate . Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart, and Charles McGraw are standouts.

    Thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies... it had been many years since I had seen it for the first time on television. Thanks to DVR I was able to record this film when it was played on TCM recently. This movie shows that with good acting, literate dialogue, and a great screenplay are what makes for an entertaining movie, which are in short supply today which too often offer computerized graphics, amateurish acting, and repetitive and crass dialogue instead. Kudos to Anthony Mann and the cinematographer for a great movie.
    metaphor-2

    Brilliant film noir disguised as French Revolution Epic

    True film noir, that densely urban, disillusioned body of work characterized by the deep shadows that separate the characters from each other and isolate them from society, was almost always set in contemporary cities... in France before WWII and in America after it. ALMOST... Anthony Mann's THE BLACK BOOK (aka REIGN OF TERROR) is one of its finest examples, a costume thriller set in the French Revolution, and somehow managing to create the visual style and emotional mood of true film noir in a completely atypical setting.

    This is a film to watch for its cinematic, visual brilliance... The story is serviceable, but the experience it services is a thrilling piece of movie art. Photographed by the great John Alton (a man who, it is said, could re-light Times Square at high noon, if necessary) the frame consistently dazzles and intrigues. Anthony Mann's taut and claustrophobic work (rather at odds with the usual French Revolution epic, and with Mann's later work in other genuinely epic-scale costume dramas) draws a compelling parallel between the atmosphere of fear in post-revolutionary France and in mid-20th century McCarthyite America.
    NoirFan62

    Another Brilliant Anthony Mann Film

    I watched REIGN OF TERROR, aka, THE BLACK BOOK a while back and I just loved it! It's one of the most unusual films I have come across and an equally strange hybrid of genres or sub-genres. The great Anthony Mann takes a film that would probably play mostly as a colorful, sweeping, epic piece dealing with the French revolution and turns it, with the help of cinematographer John Alton, into a dark, shadowy and claustrophobic film noir/adventure/spy/suspense tale period piece featuring excellent performances from a cast that includes Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart and Arlene Dahl. The plot is pretty simple actually, Cummings plays an operative of the newly formed republic who infiltrates the inner circle of dictator wannabe Basehart. You see, Basehart thinks Cummings is a regional tyrant as bad as he is called the "butcher of Strasbourg" and he wants Cummings to find his black book which contains the names of friend and foe alike who will eventually be lead to execution once Basehart becomes dictator. However, if the book falls into the hands of his enemies, Basehart is dead meat. Cummings is assisted in his quest by the lovely Dahl. Even though the plot may be thin, the suspense and action are on high as danger and one confrontation after another awaits around every dark, gloomy and shadowy Parisian corner. The look of the film is outstanding. Atmospheric, gritty and dark with shadows everywhere in the great noir tradition. Mann's camera is everywhere as we receive his trademark high angle shots, low angle moments and jarring and disjointed facial close-ups. A truly unique and highly entertaining film with a look and feel that just has to be experienced. I loved it and would recommend it highly to anyone with even the slightest interest in the work of the wonderful Anthony Mann.
    7grnhair2001

    A visual treat

    This film, beautifully wrought (cinematographer John Alton must be responsible for much of this), makes me long to return to the days of black and white films and the stunning art that can be made in shades of gray.

    From the first shot of a tiny distant rider silhouetted against massive lowering storm clouds, we are pulled into the mood of the film. The smallness of the rider is the smallness of the protagonist in the face of the overpowering events of the French Revolution. The use of light and shadow, the low shots and unusual closeups of actors: all of this made me feel I was in the hands of a master of his art. My breath was literally taken away by many of these images.

    The story is serviceable and the acting quite good, but what sticks with me is the imagery of the film, the beauty of it.
    schweinhundt1967

    "The Scarlet Pimpernel"goes film noir!

    There isn't anything happening in the plot to this little gem that hasn't been seen in at least 6 or 7 other films dealing with this time period.The difference,however,lies in the treatment.The other movies usually paint the protagonists in bold colors,emphasizing their dash,flair,attractiveness,and nobility,while the leaders of the reign of terror are seen as savage,cruel,inhuman,bloodthirsty,and psychotic savages.Well,they still are in this film,but the hero and heroine also show some pretty dark,sinister aspects as well.So,the good guys aren't the kind we're used to seeing. The pleasent surprise is seeing more versatility from both Cummings,and Dahl.We're so used to seeing them,especially HIM,as rather shallow,lightweight,and frivolous characters on so many sitcoms and comedies.It would have been a nice treat to have had more opportunities to see them do films of this nature.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Shot on sets left over from Jeanne d'Arc (1948).
    • Goofs
      In a conversation with D'Aubigny, Robespierre states that he turned 36 years old in the month of May. However, during their Reign of Terror, the French revolutionaries changed many things, including the calendar. They discarded the traditional Gregorian calendar (January, February, etc.) in favor of a new, decimal-based system, and called it the French Republican Calendar . There were still 12 months, but now each month had 3 10-day weeks (for 30 days) and all of the months were re-named. What would have been the month of "May" in the Gregorian calendar was changed to "Prairial" in the new calendar. ("Prairial" translates to prairie or meadow.) So being a good revolutionary, Robespierre would have used this new calendar and not the old one when referring to dates. He should have said he "turned 36 years old in Prairial" and not "May."
    • Quotes

      Maximilian Robespierre: There's a man in Strasbourg who isn't afraid of anything. A man named Duval.

      Fouché: Duval?

      Maximilian Robespierre: You know him?

      Fouché: No, but I know his record. Five hundred executions in a single month. That's almost as good as yours, Max.

      Maximilian Robespierre: I've sent for Duval. He arrives at the Blue Goose Inn tonight. You go there and bring him to the bakery. I'll meet him there.

      Fouché: How will I know him?

      Maximilian Robespierre: As one snake to another, you'll smell each other out.

    • Connections
      Edited into Grand format: Amérique, notre histoire (2006)

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    FAQ18

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 21, 1950 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Reign of Terror
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Walter Wanger Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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