That Night (1958)

You won't be disappointed!

Touches You

Powerful

best movie i've ever seen.

The only theatrically effort released by Maurice Cazeneuve ,who worked for TV. It will never be regarded as a masterpiece but it does not deserve to be neglected as it has been either, so a rehabilitation of sorts is in order.The French fifties were great as far as thrillers are concerned .This one has a rather derivative screenplay ,but the main difference is the role of the woman : although aware of her huge sex appeal ,she refuses to be considered a woman as a sex object;she stands by her man ,who seems rather frail compared to her ,she has a protective side to her ,not the kind of woman you meet in the great Films Noirs of the fifties, those of Clouzot,Duvivier,Decoin,Saslavsky or Hossein .There's some implausibilities in the story ,but acting and directing make up for it.Ronet (who was featured in two great thrillers "Plein Soleil" and " Ascenseur Pour l'Echafaud in this era)gives a tormented performance of a jealous man ,humiliated by his wealthy boss ;Demongeot finds a second good part after "Les Sorcières De Salem" :not a bimbo,but a mature woman,to whom love is not a four- letter word.Servais is excellent ,in the part of an aging lubricious swine (in Becker's "Rue De L'Estrapade"(1952) , he dared to play an overtly bisexual man).His nasal voice and his bloated face make him the perfect villain.And let's not forget Françoise Prevost ,as the lucid secretary ,whose playing recalls that of Madeleine Robinson.Directing is sometimes impressive ,mainly in the first part: the luxury apartment of the wealthy boss and the bar are masterfully used ;and the photographs of Demongeot who are everywhere ,on the walls,in the magazines,in newspapers kiosks create an obsession .In this matter ,the last picture is great and makes us forget the rather disappointing ending.But this is essentially psychological drama ,writer Michel Lebrun being closer to Simenon than to Boileau-Narcejac.

I am surprised that this film is not more widely known, especially if Stanley Kubrick said that it was one of the ten best films in the world. Great actors such as likes of Maurice Ronet, Jean Servais, Mylène Demongeot, cast here...And an interesting story inspired from a Michel Lebrun's novel. A story that, in the beginning, could make you think of UN TEMOIN DANS LA VILLE. But only in the first part. Not a gangster movie, such as the ones we usually watched in the fifties, but rather an ordinary citizen tale, a character which the audiences could identify in. I don't know the director, never heard of this dude. The plot has already been told in the plot line. Some good sequences, a good photography. An exciting story, yes Sir !! Stanley Kubrick was damn right.