La maison sous les arbres

Atmospheric thriller / drama directed by René Clément, based on the novel "The Children Are Gone" by Arthur Cavanaugh, French produced and set in Paris with two major American stars, Faye Dunaway & Frank Langella plus the Canadian Barbara Parkins, it tells a story of Phillipe & Jill, an American couple with 2 kids, living in "the City of Light" for two years facing a marital crisis due to Phillipe's ultimately strange behavior & Jill's psychological problems. When their 8 years old daughter, Cathy & 4 years old son, Patrick are apparently kidnapped, Jill starts to uncover what's behind the mysteriously disappearance that might be related to her taciturn husband, Phillipe...

Slow paced & dreary, but effective on the thrills, "The Deadly Trap" (original title: "La Maison sous les arbres") keeps the viewer guessing, even if the end result was not that exciting and a bit too predictable. Some major editing errors, the low budget & a "made for TV" look to it, prevented the movie to became a cult classic of the genre like the moody & similar paced, "Don't Look Now" directed by Nicolas Roeg that was released about 2 years later, but it had its moments of skillful direction and nice shots of a gloomy Paris during winter time.

Faye Dunaway is very good in the lead role, from a devoted spouse & caring mother to a desperate woman fighting against her own psychological problems to remain lucid enough to find her children. Miss Dunaway's committed performance is a stand-out in the movie, elevating the final product to a "released to theaters" quality. A thirty-something Frank Langella, here some years before his iconic role in "Dracula", delivers one of his first experiences handling a quirky, odd, but somewhat darkly charming character, a kind of role he would be typecast for almost his entire career.

In short, "The Deadly Trap" isn't for everyone, but for fans of low-key psychological thrillers, the 70's & especially, the actress Faye Dunaway, it worth a watch.

Of all the misguided choices Faye Dunaway made in her film career after co-starring in the 1967 hit "Bonnie and Clyde", this French-Italian co-production from director René Clément may be the most perplexing. An adaptation of Arthur Cavanaugh's novel "The Children Are Gone", this kidnapping drama set in Paris looks mournfully chic in gauzy autumnal colors but rarely comes together. Bickering American couple from Laurel Canyon--now apartment-dwellers in Paris for the past two years while the husband writes a book--are thrown into turmoil when their two kids disappear while on an outing in the wife's care. Dunaway is supposed to be something of a dotty, unreliable flibbertigibbet, a child-woman acting out her whims who needs psychiatric help. It's a faintly ridiculous role, too much and yet not enough for any actress to make sense out of. The villains (who are strong-arming the husband into some nefarious doings) are ill-defined nasties who arrive on the scene to portentous music on the soundtrack (in the old days, the man would have had a mustache to twirl at one end). Released under a different title in just about every country it played--including France, where it was shown as "La maison sous les arbres" ("The House Under the Trees")--it's a film that goes nowhere...and takes its time going nowhere. *1/2 from ****

It should be said from the outset that the title Death Scream is not really very appropriate in describing this film. It's a much more low-key thriller than that pulpy title suggests. It was directed by the French film-maker René Clément, who had made a name for himself with Purple Noon (1960). It seems that the success with that film – the first screen version of Patricia Highsmith's character Ripley – led him to be called the French Hitchcock and resulted in him making a series of thrillers from then up until his final film in 1975. It seems the critics weren't very kind about his latter films, an opinion I disagree with. His final film Wanted: Babysitter (1975) is a very under-rated and effective film, while Death Scream is another that can hardly be described as terrible either. In fairness, it's the least successful Clément film I have seen but it still has something to offer.

It's an English language French movie starring Faye Dunaway and Frank Langella. They play an American married couple living in Paris. They are in the midst of martial problems; he is highly secretive, while she is going through a nervous breakdown. To complicate matters, Langella is an industrial spy who retires from his job to the annoyance of his paymasters. Meanwhile, Dunaway's fragile psychological temperament leads to various problems, culminating with the couple's children mysteriously disappearing while out with her in the city. All the time in the background, there is talk of an enigmatic group called 'the organisation' who threatens the family.

It's not the most dynamic of thrillers in truth and it is a little slow-paced. It could also have ramped up the suspense a bit as well. But Dunaway and Langella are good actors and the Parisian setting does offer an attractive backdrop to events. The story has just enough intrigue to keep the viewer engaged and it ultimately amounts to a good enough film, if a relatively minor one.

From 1959 onwards (and with the success of "purple noon" (Ripley's first version),Clement wanted to become the French Hitchcock.He followed the rules quite well with the follow-up "les félins" then everything went wrong.After casting Jane Fonda ("les félins") he hired American stars for every "thriller" he made:Bronson,Ryan,Vaughn and here Dunaway.Why American stars by the way?They were all dubbed (with the exception of Fonda)for everybody cannot be Jodie Foster for that matter.

"La maison sous les arbres" is a would be suspenseful movie with heavy pretensions:a big set-up,where poor Dunaway is caught like a fly in a cobweb :her children are kidnapped and "they "keep them in... (well,check the title;it means "the house under the trees") No cigar ,and not even close.

This is a neat little thriller, quite forgotten but now available on DVD. I'm glad to have seen it as it has been hard to find. It's set in France with American leads and it's quite low key and atmospheric. It's a stylish vehicle for the then red hot actress Faye Dunaway and it's nice to see her in a European setting, sometimes uttering things i french. She is absolutely drop dead stunning and there are several loving close ups of that magnificent face.

It's nice to see her playing a mother and interacting with kids. She's playful, loving and laid back. In the film she shares a family life with Frank Langella, who also has an interesting face and is believable as an ambitious writer devoted to his scatter brained wife Faye.

The cosy bohemian apartment and the misty views of Paris in the autumn is a big part of what makes this rare film a gem. The story is suspenseful and will keep wondering what will happen next, all though there are some questions left unanswered at the end. The film does seem built around showing how sensual and gorgeous Faye is and she is at the height of her beauty. With so many scenes she is often shown staring deeply at other peoples faces or into the distance with her wonderful soulful eyes.

She is a wonderful actress and a joy to watch but I did feel at times that she held back a bit when she could have gone for stronger emotions. At the police office, when she is accused of a big crime, she reacts as if she had merely been caught shop lifting. She stares at the accuser, stutters and (what is classic Faye) opens her mouth to say something only to be interrupted by the other actor (perhaps impatient to say the lines and get the plot moving). In this situation she should have screamed hysterically at the awful predicament she's in but instead she throws some objects across the desk in annoyance. In another scene, when she witnesses a death, she could have screamed or acted shocked but instead she just stares. Aside from these small scenes, she is so entrancing to watch that this thriller is a pleasure to see!