La beauté du diable

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Rene Clair; Produced by Salvo D'Angelo. A French-Italian co-production, released in America by Arthur Davis Associates. Screenplay by Rene Clair and Armand Salacrou; Photography by Michel Kelber; Camera by Gianni Di Venanzo; Edited by James Cuenet; Music by Roman Vlad; Assistant Director: Michel Boisrond. Starring: Michel Simon, Gerard Philipe, Simone Valere, Nicole Besnard, Carlo Ninchi, Raymond Cordy, Paolo Stoppa

Brilliant Clair revamping of the Faust myth, with Simon excelling as the Devil and Gerard the perfect romantic hero. Clair utilizes excellent special effects and ingeniously stylish gags in this ironic tale. Voluptuous Simone Valere not only delivers some white nightgown action, but also flashes some well-revealed supersize jugs.

After fifty years of service to the University and science without enjoying the pleasures of life, Professor Henri Faust (Michel Simon) is visited by the servant of Lucifer, Mephistopheles (Gérard Philipe), who offers youth and a new life to him.

Professor Faust switches body with Mephistopheles and the young Henri meets the gypsy girl Marguerite (Nicole Besnard), but he is accused of killing Professor Faust and is arrested. Mephistopheles tries to force Henri to sign a contract to give his soul to Lucifer. Henri refuses and Mephistopheles schemes an evil plot, bringing Henri to the court to become successful, transforming sand into gold and becoming the lover of the Princess (Simone Valère). When Henri is dumped to the poverty again, he is lured by Mephistopheles and accepts to sign the contract. Will Lucifer win the battle against the integrity of Henri and the love of Marguerite with him?

"La Beauté du Diable" is a delightful adaptation of the German legend of Faust. The witty screenplay of René Clair and Armand Salacrou is wonderful and Michel Simon "steals" the film in the role of the wicked Mephistopheles in very funny situations. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Beleza do Diabo" ("The Beauty of the Devil")

Note: On 11 April 2024, I saw this film again.

This is such an excellent movie. It's worth calling a masterpiece. I just want to tell everyone I know about it! Gerard Philippe is amazingly handsome. To lots of people, he might look not only handsome but also smart, sophiscated and sexy and he is as a matter of a fact. Plots, performance, direction, casting, music and background. These essences of movies are just outstanding. Told by my friends that he was an amazing actor, I understood that they were right after watching this movie. I felt deeply satisfied by the quality just like I had wonderful meals in the 3-star restaurant.

If you want to explore French movies, I will recommend you this one.

René Clair located the action in an imaginary land ,at a time which is not historically precise: it may make you think of Italy and the characters of the prince and his wife might hint at a principality .A time which may remind you of the Renaissance or the seventeenth century when science and alchemy were not entirely differentiated :hence the people's wrath , sorcery was unholy ......Mephistopheles was one of the seven princes of Hell and one of the incarnations of the Devil;however, in the film,he's sent by the Devil (as Dominique and Gilles were envoys in "les visiteurs du soir" (1942),or on God' s side ,Clarence in "it's a wonderful life "(1945)). He's really on a mission .

Michel Simon ,actor extraordinaire ,as brilliant in the tragedy ("panique" ) as in the comedy ("drôle de drame" ) , was the best embodiment of the Devil I had ever seen;And Clair insisted his film be a tragi-comedy! Gérard Philipe 's portrayal was more contested ,but his boyish looks ,his romantic appeal and even his sniggering face when he appears for the first time cannot fail to win the audience over :his premature death was a major loss for the French cinema .Both actors play doubles ,which confuses the viewer and adds to the pleasure to watch these monstres sacrés together on the screen.

The first scene in the academy sets the tone :although doctor Faust is praised by his peers ,he's bored stiff during the ceremony (you should see Simon's face); a life devoted to science is an unfulfilled one ; by reading the lines in the palm of his hand,Marguerite (who appears as a gypsy ,an astute choice,for gypsies 'science is close to magic) tells him that "his life is over" .Naively ,Faust thinks that his true life,in which he will enjoy all the pleasures of life ,has begun.

Another side of the movie won't be lost on today's audience : after WW2, the fear of the atomic bomb reached peaks circa 1950; as Carné disguised the French resistance as a medieval fable in "les visiteurs du soir" ,Clair uses the legendary costume drama as a warning against the power of wealth and science : Faust becomes a pawn in the Devil's game he uses for destruction ,for man's downfall ; fortune and the princess are lures which can only be the death of the country and later on, the whole world .

Ah!my beauty past compare these jewels!

René Clair movies are ,in my humble opinion,among the least interesting of the old cinema:Duvivier,Carné ,Renoir,Pagnol,Clouzot and Grémillon are much more exciting.Even the so-called masterpieces such as "le million"(1931) or "quatorze juillet" fail to excite me.In America ,Clair made a valuable adaptation of Christie's "and then were none ,but I'm not sure he was the right director for that.Returning to France ,he released "le silence est d'or' which I personally find unpleasant ,and then "la beauté du diable".

"La beauté du diable" would be interesting,were it only for Michel Simon's sensational portrayal of Mephisto and handsome Gerard Philippe,although very good, is sometimes dwarfed by the old lion of the French cinema.The lines are sometimes witty and hints at the atomic bomb reflect the greatest fear of the era.Simone Valere,Jean Desailly's wife ,as the princess,finds here one of her rare good screen parts -she mainly worked on stage-

That said,Jacques Tourneur made a much better job with the devil in "la main du diable" ,which is the real granddaddy of "Rosemary's baby" or "Angel heart".

Gerard Philippe was to be featured in two Clair's subsequent works ,two overrated works ,"belles de nuit" and "les grandes manoeuvres" ,and alas,sans Michel Simon.