Le désordre et la nuit

Jean Gabin is not playing Inspecteur Maigret here, but he is a detective investigating the murder of a night club owner who also deals heroin. Nadja Tiller plays a glamourous habituee of the club who falls for Gabin; she is also a junkie. Her scene of withdrawal is far from the gritty reality, she just seems to have a hangover and sweats a bit.

I was impressed with Hazel Scott in a small part as the club's pianist-singer. This Barbadian-born performer married Adam Clayton Powell and had to leave the US in the Fifties because of her leftist politics. She was played by Vanessa L. Williams in a recent made for TV movie. On the basis of this small part, she could have had a career like Dorothy Dandridge's.

When the middle-aged police inspector Georges Vallois (Jean Gabin) is assigned to investigate the murder case of a drug dealer, the suspect is his addicted mistress Lucky Fridel (Nadja Tiller). But soon Vallois and Lucky have a love affair and he believes she is innocent and needs rehab.

"Le désordre et la nuit", a.k.a. "The Night Affair", is a different film-noir. The storyline shows a dirty tale with an old police inspector having an affair with a junkie woman that could be his daughter and manipulating the events in the end to present the best solution for the case. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Vício Maldito" ("Damned Addiction")

Although it is not based on a Simenon novel,the atmosphere recalls that of the Belgian writer.And Audiard comes up with one good line or two particularly when Gabin tells Darrieux that ,with her medicine,she can calm her protégée forever.

Another proof positive that Grangier was a good director in the fifties and if this one is not as exciting as "Danger De Mort" or "Retour A L'Envoyeur " ,it's because the writers hesitate between detective story and psychological drama.The two sides of the plot do not hang well together ;besides,Darrieux's part,very important,is underwritten and it's 45 minutes before she appears.

Grangier knew how to show the big city at night with its lights ,its darkness on the edge ,its shady places .He was not afraid,like Decoin in "Razzia Sur LA Chnouff " to show an already drug-addicted youth.The Commissaire /Young girl relationship is as much father /daughter as it is lovers .This loser is actually from a wealthy German family,a subject which would be trendy ten years later in the wake of May 68.

I would be surprised were Gilles Grangier to be in anyone's pantheon of great directors but Jean Gabin liked him enough to make no less that twelve films with him. Their collaborations in the sixties do not alas amount to much but their films of the fifties are of great interest, notably 'Sang a la Tete' and this policier, adapted from his own novel by Jacques Robert with splendid dialogue by the ubiquitous Michel Audiard.

The human touch, so often lacking in hard-boiled films of this type, is supplied by Jean Gabin's 'straight and narrow cop' and Nadja Tiller's 'junkie'. It is their relationship that holds the film together. Although her character admits to being twenty-three, Fraulein Tiller is in fact nearer thirty here but there is still a twenty-five year difference in age between her and Monsieur Gabin. This does not seem to matter as he is well-tailored, keeps his clothes on, the lighting is subtle and they have a definite simpatico. Gabin again gets away with it the following year in the excellent 'En Cas de Malheur' with an even younger Brigitte Bardot. Despite their rather gruff and blokish demeanor both Gabin and his natural successor Lino Ventura had a distinct chemistry with their leading ladies.

One of Gabin's favourite cinematographers Louis Page is again on duty here. The music is jazzy and might 'perhaps' have been influenced by Miles Davis' ground breaking score to 'L'Ascenseur pour L'Echafaud' released the same year.

There is also the presence of talented jazz pianist/vocalist Hazel Scott in what I believe is her only French film following her unfortunate departure from America. For those who have an interest I would strongly recommend the television documentary entitled, rather appropriately, 'Whatever happened to Hazel Scott?'

One must not forget, in fact one can never forget, the divine Danielle Darrieux. Her performance transcends what is, on paper anyway, a 'minor' role.

Policiers were becoming noticeably more hard-hitting during this period and despite containing elements which are bound to occasion a few 'tut-tuts' from the PC brigade, this one has certainly stood the test of time.

The old treasures of worldwide's cinema reachs us after DVD's advent, this month came out a box of French's Noir, inside it a little gem with the great Jean Gabin and Danielle Darrieux, this pleasant picture was directed by an unknown craftsman Gilles Grangier who wasn't got a propper respect like others french directors, but he owes nothing to anybody else, in fact a little masterpiece, driven it to smallest persons or invisibles ones who carry the world, besides Gabin desmiss any kind of feedback over such prominence who includes Darrieux too, all small characters has something to offer for the picture's success while still doesn't appeared here on IMDB yet, but cetainly in short time as soon as possible in face a priceless work!!

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First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.75