THE FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT 3

FURTHER EXPLORATIONS IN CLASSIC FRENCH NOIR, 1939-1965

THU—MON, NOV 3—7  ·  ROXIE THEATRE
Presented by Mid-Century Productions

THU, NOV 3
Origins: 1939

Daybreak

LE JOUR SE LEVE
DAYBREAK

(1939) 7:30

The Last Turn

LE DERNIER TOURNANT
THE LAST TURN

(1939) 9:20

FRI, NOV 4
Rehabilitations 1: Christian-Jaque

Journey without Hope

VOYAGE SANS ESPOIR
JOURNEY WITHOUT HOPE

(1943) 7:30

A Lover's Return

UN REVENANT
A LOVER'S RETURN

(1946) 9:20

SAT MATINÉE, NOV 5
HOSSEIN X 5
Two with Marie-France Pisier

Death of a Killer

LA MORT D'UN TUEUR
DEATH OF A KILLER

(1964) 1:30

The Secret Killer

LE VAMPIRE DE DÜSSELDORF
THE SECRET KILLER

(1965) 3:15

SAT EVENING, NOV 5
The Many (Deadpan) Moods of Robert Hossein…

The Road to Shame

DES FEMMES DISPARAISSENT
THE ROAD TO SHAME

(1959) 6:00

The Wretches

LES SCÉLÉRATS
THE WRETCHES

(1960) 7:45

The Game of Truth

LE JEU DE LA VÉRITÉ
THE GAME OF TRUTH

(1961) 9:30

SUN MATINÉE, NOV 6
1960s "Art-Noir" and the "Lost Boys" of the Nouvelle Vague

The Denunciation

LA DÉNONCIATION
THE DENUNCIATION

(1962) 1:30

Dark Journey

LÉVIATHAN
DARK JOURNEY

(1962) 3:30

SUN EVENING, NOV 6
Simone Signoret et un Monstre Sacré

Not Guilty

NON COUPABLE
NOT GUILTY

(1947) 7:00

The Cheat

MANÈGES
THE CHEAT

(1950) 9:00

MON, NOV 7
Rehabilitations 2: Jean Delannoy, "New Wave Whipping Boy"

Gambling Hell

MACAO, L'ENFER DE JEU
GAMBLING HELL

(1942) 7:15

The Chips Are Down

LES JEUX SONT FAITS
THE CHIPS ARE DOWN

(1947) 9:00

MONDAY, NOV 7 REHABILITATIONS 2: JEAN DELANNOY, "NEW WAVE WHIPPING BOY"

GAMBLING HELL / MACAO, L'ENFER DE JEU  7:15

We kick off our "rehabilitation" of exceptionally versatile director Jean Delannoy with the last of the great "exotic adventure noirs" that formed the third genre of classic French noir. Joseph von Sternberg was merely copying these films with The Shanghai Gesture…here we have the real thing, done up with a sweeping style that even Hollywood couldn't quite match. The battle of wits between von Stroheim and Sessue Hayakawa is as riveting as Mireille Balin (whose life would be ruined by her passionate love affair with a German office) is mysteriously alluring. It is "cinema de papa" at its most kinetic. With Erich von Stroheim, Mireille Balin, Sessue Hayakawa.

Dir. Jean Delannoy (1942, 91 min.) Adaptation & dialogue by Pierre-Gilles Veber & Roger Vitrac from the novel by Maurice Dekobra. Photography by Nicolas Hayer.

THE CHIPS ARE DOWN / LES JEUX SONT FAITS  9:00

THE FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT 3 comes to an end with a film that demonstrates that noir situations can even exist in Heaven. Eve (the elegant, dazzling Micheline Presle) and Pierre (the rough-hewn, dashing Marcel Pagliero) meet in heaven after their lives have been prematurely ended by familial and political intrigues. They fall in love, and discover that they are eligible for a second chance on Earth if their devotion does not waver over the course of their first day back among the living. But each is returned to poisonous situations that will test their love for each other—can they overcome the pitfalls that threaten earthly success, or are they doomed to return to Heaven as lonely, wandering souls? Delannoy and his scenarist (the eminent existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre) keep the philosophy in the background and the action in the forefront as the two lovers attempt to beat the odds. A beautiful, haunting, one-of-a-kind noir that you will not soon forget. With Micheline Presle, Marcel Pagliero, Marguerite Moreno, Marcel Mouloudji.

Dir. Jean Delannoy (1947, 105min.) Dialogue by Jean-Paul Sartre & Jacques-Laurent Bost from an original scenario by Jean-Paul Sartre. Photography by Christian Matras.