Le rouge et mis (1957)

Le rouge et mis (1957) is a classic jazz riffs all out good time Parisienne one last job-styled heist and gangsters in pyjamas motor car chase and crash French crime film directed by Gilles Grangier and starring Jean Gabin, with the original French title Le rouge est mis, meaning "the red light is on", and with a screenplay based on a novel by Auguste Le Breton, and which not only mentions the 'serie noire' as its own originator, in a metafictional coup, but which stars French legends Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, with Paul Frankeur, Marcel Bozzuffi, Annie Girardot, Jean-Pierre Mocky and Lucien Raimbourgand it was 100% réalisé par Gilles Grangier, assisté de Jacques Deray, Jacques Rouffio, et sorti en 1957.

Trois jours à vivre (1957)

Trois jours à vivre (1957) is a French film noir witness to murder paranoia romance in theatreland procedural condemned man doomed to die Gilles Grangier fifties Francophile psychological thriller with Daniel Gélin, Lino Ventura Georges Flamant and Jeanne Moreau.

The facile dogmas propagated by the critics of Cahiers du Cinéma have too long consigned Gilles Grangier to the purgatory of the supposedly mediocre. They accused him of failing to innovate, as if innovation were a gaudy ornament to be affixed for the pleasure of theoreticians rather than an organic necessity arising from the material of a film.

Hôtel du Nord (1938)

Hôtel du Nord (1938)  is a French classic classic French proto film noir doomed pimp and darkly comic bickering dialogued suicide and true romance couple almost on the run prostitute prison and imprisonment ensemble cast melodrama of working class Parisien life from Marcel Carné and starring Arletty and Louise Jouvet.

Marcel Carné's Hôtel du Nord (1938) emerges from the late interwar period in France, perched delicately on the brink of catastrophe. Its mood of dreamy disillusionment and marginal existence is a quiet whisper of the cultural malaise circulating through a Europe growing weary of its own shadows. 

La Chienne (1931)

La Chienne (1931) is a French poetic realist film de pur génie puppet show de la vie misery of faked identities, Jean Renoir-noir Paris night-time street scenes murder and fated descent into tramping bummery, all round classique de poetic realism, classic film noir, and ardent ancient treasury of la cinematique-du-crime, in which a dupe is duped by a couple of unsympathetic street denizens of poverty struck human villainy wherein all you own are your clothes and your cigarettes, while also satirising the middle and business merchant class, and the art class, with its mendicant conclusion and historic remaking by Fritz Lang in the equally immortal and immoral bum-quest to the bottom that is Scarlet Street (1945)

Pépé le Moko (1937)

Pépé le Moko (1937) is a mouche-noir French proto film noir Casbah-bound crime glamour seduction violence and poetic realist romance and intrigue police procedural classic of crime cinema and of French cinema, starring Jean Gabin and directed by Julien Duvivier.

As for films that stand the test of time and remain classics of cinema, and also classics of film noir, enough in fact to be here heralded and touted as an example of nothing less than classic film noir, then one must watch them to make the mind up, and not take any old soul's advice on that.

Watching Pépé le Moko (1937) is no duty however and will be a true pleasure, for the acting and the intrigue, for the framing and the fun, for the well constructed mis en scene and the en scene itself, of the many corridored confusions of The Casbah are the perfect and perfectly realised backdrop of this movie wonder. 

In the context of this, Julien Duvivier’s 1937 film Pépé le Moko, “le Moko” is not a surname but a nickname. It derives from the French slang term moko, which was used to describe people from the region around Toulon and Marseille in southern France, particularly dockworkers and sailors. 

Quai des Orfèvres (1947)

Quai des Orfèvres (1947) is a genial, talkative, vibrant dance hall and French film noir police procedural exploration of human frailty and crime.

Based on the book Légitime défense by Stanislas-Andre Steeman, 'Quai' was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot tand stars Suzy Delair as Jenny Lamour, Bernard Blier as Maurice Martineau, Louis Jouvet as Inspector Antoine and Simone Renant as Dora.

The film was Clouzot's third directorial work, and the first after the controversy of Le corbeau. Without having the novel on hand, Clouzot and Jean Ferry based the film on memory and deviated significantly from the original story.

Pleins feux sur l'assassin (1961)

Pleins feux sur l'assassin (1961) is a strange thriller mystery horroresque French film noir nest of vipers-style rural chateau based tale of twisted and messed up tale of bereavement and greed, which speaks of mortality, intense hatred, evil old age male spite and 

It is a film not entirely within the French New Wave, and yet one which does display strong noir tropes, and at the same time seems to look at Jean Cocteua or Marcel Carne as inspiration rather than indulging in the deconstructions of the contemporary French class-acts such as Godard and Truffaut.

Judex (1963)

Judex (1963) is a French language crime remake revenge-noir swinging mirror camera action mystery, capture, intrigue and oddity P.I. historical noir melodrama which is delightfully static, wild of avian headgear, and other subtly surreal touches of oddity and exciting curio.

It's soft and gentle, a film on tip toes, an acoustic film like no other, without doubt a film of birdsong, and otehr ambience, but eh music when it is musical is absolutely choice, the ambient quiet drone and deep distant trills during he good versus evil white body suit versus black body suit combat mani a manin on the dark French provincial rooftop is unmissable film chic. You know this film has some heavy dark chords too, beneath the word FIN au fin they clang in death march time baby.

Rififi (1955)

Rififi (1955) is a classic for-all-time French crime heist criminal gang suspense film noir adaptation of Auguste Le Breton's novel of the same name.

Directed by American blacklisted filmmaker Jules Dassin, the film stars Jean Servais as the aging gangster Tony "le Stéphanois", Carl Möhner as Jo "le Suédois", Robert Manuel as Mario Farrati, and Jules Dassin as César "le Milanais". 

This equippe du crime collab to commit an almost impossible theft, the burglary of an exclusive jewelry shop in the Rue de la Paix. 

The centerpiece of the film is an intricate half-hour heist scene depicting the crime in detail, shot in near silence, without dialogue or music. The fictional burglary has been mimicked by criminals in actual crimes around the world, making of Rififi (1955) more than just a classic of cinema, but a criminal touchstone in tis own right.

Plein Soleil (1960)

Plein Soleil (1960), which is known in English as Purple Noon, is a French full colour film noir deceit and murder romance novel adaptation, and a genuine classic and of the later French film noir cycle, not in the least for its iconic, seminal,  foundational, ground-breaking, influential, landmark, catalystic performance from Alain Delon.

Purple Noon then as is known, this seminal French seminar in Mediterranean murder chic, so cold and so warm, so yacht-deadly and so nouveau in its horrors, sdo nihilistic in its love and so anti-American in its subtle heart, so tight lipped and so guilty, so clever and so swift.

Les Yeux Sans Visage (1960)

Les Yeux Sans Visage (1960) is a seminal and classic French horror plastic surgery father-daughter mad scientist murder noir which turned out to be one of the very first productions of the modern horror era, replete with psychological fear, gore and incidental lurking canine terror, with a dash of policer procedural.

The film centers on and at the same time revolves around and turns upon while circling the notional conceit that a plastic surgeon is determined to perform a face transplant on his daughter, who was disfigured in a car accident. 

During production, efforts were made to align with European censorship standards by minimizing graphic gore. Despite being cleared by censors, Eyes Without a Face sparked controversy upon its European release, with critics offering reactions that ranged from praise to disgust.

Le Corbeau (1943)

Le Corbeau (The Raven) (1943) is a French poison pen letter rural moral paranoia classic film noir, and of all the classics of the French positioning in any canon, it's one beauty of a production that bears multiple readings, as well as offering mystery, character, love and violence.

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1943 film Le Corbeau (The Raven) is a cornerstone of French cinema, notable for its controversial origins, dark narrative, and enduring legacy. Set in a small French town, the film unravels a sinister mystery involving anonymous poison pen letters accusing a local doctor, Rémy Germain, of performing illegal abortions and engaging in an affair. 

Carrefour (1938)

Carrefour (1938) is an amnesia noir proto-noir French thriller with a pedigree so crucial to film noir and the noir style, that pages must and will be written about this classic of the noir manner.

Crossroads, as anglophones might intone, being the translated term, much it might be said in the film noir mode, with its emphasis in naming, upon streets, roads, and other similar type of concept.

Actually titled Carrefour in French, this early expression of the film noir trend is a mystery drama film from 1938. Directed by Curtis Bernhardt, it features Charles Vanel, Jules Berry, and Suzy Prim in leading roles. This influential film led to two remakes in English: the British Dead Man’s Shoes in 1940 and the American Crossroads in 1942. Filming took place at the Billancourt Studios and around Paris, with Jean d’Eaubonne and Raymond Gabutti as the art directors responsible for the film’s visual design.

Curtis Bernhardt’s journey through the film industry mirrors that of his contemporaries, traversing Germany, France, and America. Unlike Fritz Lang and Robert Siodmak, Bernhardt never returned to Germany to film. 

Le jour se lève (1939)

Le jour se lève (1939) is a classic French Proto-Noir romantic murder drama that is considered to be one of the finest examples of the style known as poetic realism.

This French all-time classique tells the story of foundry worker François (Jean Gabin) who shoots and kills a man called Valentin (played by Jules Berry). 

François then locks himself in his apartment and is soon besieged by the police, who fail in an attempt to shoot their way into the room. As the police regroup to decide how to apprehend him, and as a crowd forms outside, François begins to reminisce on how he came to be in this predicament.

Although not made in the United States and pre-dating the film noir movement it is incredible how well Le jour se lève (1939) fits within the film noir canon. For a start, its flashback style is more than suggestive of noir — in fact the flashback itself is done with more consideration and emotion that is normally found in typical American noir.

Le deuxième souffle (1966)

Jean-Pierre Melville takes his favourite elements from the era of the film noir crime films, and treats them to some realism. 

The mood is always empty, and there is very little in the way of fun. 

There are some pretty, but pretty vacant dancing girls, who are only smiling because it is their job to smile, and their repeated turns and even their rehearsal, early in the picture, are as fun as it gets.

This is Le deuxième souffle (1966), a wonderful, omenous, wide ranging and all-enveloping French film noir and gangster flick.

Because it's French film noir, there is always going to be a slight difference. Some things are taken more seriously, like the back stories of the hoods, molls, cops and gangsters.

At the samw time, some scenes make less sense than we might like them to, but we are always midway through everything, and in real life, there is no scene setting. The sadness is somewhat hidden beneath the piped smooth vibraphone-based jazz that plays in the bars and clubs, and even in some of the featured houses.

This beautiful tense, funny, hard French film noir opens suddenly showing into the finale of an escape from prison. One man dies during the escape, but the other two make it out, and we follow them on an atmospheric run through the forest, in a minimal opening credits sequence with very little music.

From there Le deuxième souffle is one long and epic criminal ramble.

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (1954)

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (director Jacques Becker, 1954) is a consumate French classic.

If you’re looking for something different, a new angle on the gangster genre, then you are implored to check it out.

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi ("Don't Touch The Loot") has a great story, superior performances, largely from Jean Gabin, but most essentially it plays against a great backdrop of thugs, prostitutes and other underworld characters — here shot in many genuinely seedy settings in and around Montmartre.

A good gangster film always demands this kind of background colour, and Grisbi has it all.  Merd Alors, it’s 60 years old but it is as burning hot as any turd Tarantino might turn out!

I promise you'll love it.

La Grande Illusion (1937)

La Grande Illusion (1937) is a film about class issues, that doesn't take sides. 

It's an intreresting take, and pretty unusual when you think about it. But La Grande Illusion doesn't present nor admit to a bias and sees everybody as sympathetic, including the tragic aristocrats at the heart of the problems.

La Grande Illusion does at the same pretend to a strange vision of trench warfare.  In the first scene Jean Gabin is in his shoddily built mess, which has a well-stocked bar and waiter.  

The very next scene shows the actor Eric Von Stroheim and the Germans in their own similarly shack-like officers' mess, with an even better bar, again with its own proud barkeep.

Maybe that was what it was like.  I don't know, but the German bar certainly seems to have a hell of a lot of liquor as well as a cocktail shaker.

French Film Noir

A Bout de Souffle (1960)

A Bout de Souffle (1960) (Breathless) is a classic of something, but not everybody can agree what exactly it is a classic example of.

It is New Wave for sure, and although is too postmodern by far to be a genuine film noir, the French (and in this case Jean-Luc Godard, a Suisse) appropriated film noir for their own, and made a virtue of its every trope.

And film noir's every trope is stated in A Bout de Souffle. Trouble is that to appreciate Breathless, and see what is going on, a viewer has to see the picture from a historical context, which requires studying the French New Wave, film theory as a whole, and the lives and attitudes of its contemporaries.

Le Quai des Brumes (1938)

Film noir may be associated with Hollywood of the 1940s and 1950s but it didn't start there.  It came from Europe, and if you need evidence of this then look no further than Le Quai des Brumes, directed by Marcel Carné and released in 1938.

In terms of European influence on film noir, we often hear about the German expressionist style which took off in the 1920s, but also of note is a school of film-making which is exemplified in Le Quai des Brumes, that of Poetic Realism.

What that means is that the crummy back-alley feel of film noir, and the often impoverished urban settings and doomed romances of film noir, evolved in part from films like Le Quai des Brumes. 

Bob le flambeur (1956)

Bob le flambeur (1956)

For the lover of film noir, and the French dedicatee of American cinema, there is Jean-Pierre Melville's 1956 movie Bob le flambeur.

Mai oui, Bob le flambeur is a French film, but in many ways it could barely be more American.

It was made by director Jean-Pierre Melville who was obsesed with all things American, and who loved the gangster films of the 1930s, 40s and 50s so much, that he made many of his own.

In Bob Le Flambeur, we find is the first great hommage to noir, for Bob Le Flambeur is an outsider's view of American cinema, an attempt to make an American style film on foreign soil.  

The story features many film noir elements — it is set in the criminal underworld of a big city, and features a loner who at various times works on both sides of the law, even though he is essentially a crook. The urban settings and the odd camera angles will also be familiar to viewers of classic film noir, as will be one of the main themes — a man undone because of a woman.