Tulipunainen kyyhkynen

Quick! How many Finnish film noirs have you seen? For me, "Scarlet Dove" (1961) was the first (Matti Kassila's more famous "Inspector Palmu" series falls more under the whodunit category). The setup is a classic used by many American noirs of the 1940s and French noirs of the 1950s: middle-aged man suspects his wife has a lover, has his suspicions confirmed, follows them around, and plots revenge. The film is well-done in all respects, and quite provocative for its time (it opens with an extended shot of the wife from the waist down, in a swimsuit). What brings it down and makes a wholehearted recommendation difficult is the absolutely terrible ending - also sometimes found in American noirs of the period. There is a final message on the screen that says "please don't spoil the ending!", and I won't, but the ending is spoiled itself. **1/2 out of 4.

Matti Kassila is surely one of the most talented and versatile directors in the Finnish cinema. He was able to make films that are entertaining as well as films that have huge artistic quality and he was familiar with almost every genre, such as crime, comedy and drama. Tulipunainen kyyhkynen (The Scarlet Dove) is one of his great thrillers. It is based on his dream that he once saw when he was thinking about a idea of a new film. A middle-aged doctor finds out that his wife is having an affair with another man. He fallows his wife to the city and sees how she meets her lover and how they make love on an empty stadium. That's too unbearable for the doctor to watch and he starts to wander in the nocturnal city, but for some reason comes back to the stadium and finds his wife murdered. He calls the cops, but suddenly becomes the prime suspect himself.

Tulipunainen kyyhkynen is one of the few Finnish thriller that has perfectly captured all the essential film noir elements: big city by night (Helsinki), deceitful woman, crime of passion, detectives in their long overcoats, fatalism, existentialistic cinematography (black and white of course)...Tulipunainen kyyhkynen has certain impulses of Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Window (especially the plot), but also the Hitchcockian references are present in the film (a wrong man accused for the crime that he didn't commit). But the film avoids to be a straight plagiarized version of any of the great Hollywood film noir thrillers. It is too original to be anything like that.

Again Kassila has found the right actors for the right roles, Tauno Palo playing the middle-aged doctor in his last film appearance, Helen Elde playing a mysterious woman, Matti Oravisto playing the lover and Risto Mäkelä playing the sarcastic police lieutenant. And we cannot forget the great and clever script written by Juha Nevalainen, one of the best screenwriter of the old Finnish Cinema.

Tauno Palo plays middle aged doctor Olavi Aitamaa, who's at the summer cottage with his family spending the last day of the vacation.They are supposed to have a crayfish feast later.A letter arrives, that is meant for his wife Helena (Gunvor Sandkvist).Olavi gets to read it first.It is from her lover.Olavi goes following his wife to the place she and her lover are supposed to meet.The place is an empty stadium.There he sees his wife and the man wearing sunglasses (Matti Oravisto) having tender moments.When Olavi leaves the spot he meets a mysterious red headed woman (Helen Elde), who has no name but he calls her Ritva because he used to love a girl by that name when he was less than twenty.Later he returns to the spot and finds Helena murdered.Olavi becomes the prime suspect of the murder.Matti Kassila's Tulipunainen kyyhkynen (1961) takes some surreal turns in the nocturnal Helsinki.Kassila is a masterly director who you can very well compare to Alfred Hitchcock.This movie is also very well written by Juha Nevalainen.There is some wonderful dialogue between Olavi and the mysterious woman.Tauno Palo is just amazing in the lead.You can feel the anxiety he's feeling.This was his last film role.What a great way to end a career.His son Pertti Palo is seen in the movie.Gunvor Sandkvist is doing a wonderful job as Helena.Helen Elde is perfect as the mysterious woman.Matti Oravisto is marvelous.Risto Mäkelä does very fine work at the role of Mankela.There are all the right actors in the movie.Also Tommi Rinne makes a brief appearance as a Reporter.This is a true masterpiece of Finnish cinema, a very fine psychological thriller that will keep you nailed to your seats.There's a twist waiting in the end.I'm not going to tell you what it is because they asked me not to at the end of the movie.But I can tell you this; it explains everything that has happened in the movie.

Fans of film noir mostly are fond of american and english film noir, forgetting noir europeen. A few french classics are worldly known ("Les Diaboliques" by Clouzot), but who knows about the rest? And what about this "Scarlet Dove" from Finland, a late 1961 perfect nightmare with a very precise cinematographic writing from beginning to end and with constant crescendo suspense with constant surprising and shocking details. Music score is as anxious as the husband. The casting is fabulous : Tauno Palo as the massive but anxious husband, Gunvor Sandkvist as his lying wife and Helen Elde as the lovely young girl (who looks like Shirley MacLaine), in fact all the actors are very well chosen for each character. "The Scarlet Dove" is inspired by the two noirs masters, Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz lang, shooting on location in Helsinki. "The Scarlet Dove" deserves to be a cult noir movie.