The Game of Truth (1961)

Sadly Over-hyped

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Becoming a fan of Robert Hossein since seeing his dazzling Spaghetti Western Cemetery Without Crosses,and also having seen a number of Agatha Christie adaptations on stage,I was delightfully caught by surprise,when a very kind fellow IMDber gave me a chance to see Hossein take on a Christie-style Film Noir!,which led to me getting ready to play the game of truth.The plot:Gathering up fellow members of the elite at his country mansion, Portrant reveals that he has an envelope containing a secret about one of the guests which Portrant claims will make him millions.Wanting to build anticipation to him opening the letter at midnight,Portrant starts to play "the game of truth" with his fellow guests,with the game being that they each have to give an honest answer to whoever questions them.After everyone reveals some sore truths,they all decide to have a drink,as Portrant takes a seat.Whilst the guests take a swig at the booze,the power goes off.Turning the lights on again,the guests are horrified to discover that one of them has killed Portrant.View on the film:Backed by a silky score from his dad André,co-writer/(along with Robert Chazal/Louis Martin/Steve Passeur and Jean Serge)co- star/director Robert Hossein & cinematographer Christian Matras brew up an old dark house atmosphere,as the rumbling sounds of thunder and lightning outside send the broken mirrors and rotting chandeliers tumbling.Taking place in just one location, (talk about done on a budget!) Hossein keeps the mystery from going dry with elegant eye-catching camera moves,first expressed in the first person opening,that are carried over in looming Film Noir shadows being cast across the mansion.Keeping the stage appearance intact,the writers gradually roll out a murder mystery,which whilst featuring some sharp stings,does lead to all of the characters lacking a depth of field.Despite gliding over giving any of them depth,the writers join the guests with delightfully bitter Film Noir dialogue,as the women unleash venom against each other,and the men try to one up each other,even when a dead body is in front of them.Giving each guest a less than warm welcome, Paul Meurisse gives a terrific slime ball performance as Portrant,who is joined by Jean- Louis Trintignant and the very pretty Nadia Gray layering the viper Film Noir charms on as guests Guy de Fleury and Solange Vérate.Entering the mansion as an outside, Hossein gives a terrific blunt performance as the "inspector" who finds himself caught up in the game of truth.

A group of bored, upper-crust malcontents who don't like each other much gather in a rococo mansion on a stormy night to await the arrival of a universally hated peer who says he knows a secret about one of them that's worth millions. He comes and gets offed during a revealing "game of truth" but that's no guarantee the secret's safe -and, of course, whodunit? An Agatha Christie-style "drawing room murder mystery" (literally, there's only the one set) made more interesting than it has any right to be by avant-garde mise-en-scène created entirely by character placement and a jazzy score (courtesy of Hossein's dad, Andre) that provides dramatic punctuation. The cast (director Hossein, Jean Servais, Jean- Louis Trintignant for the men and Nadia Gray, Françoise Prévost, Daliah Lavi for the ladies, among others) is impressive and without them it'd be well nigh interminable but I still found it overly convoluted and a bit claustrophobic. It's very talky, too, but, reely, what else can it do? I much preferred the confined spaces of Luis Buñuel's later EXTERMINATING ANGEL and Julien Duvivier's earlier MARIE-OCTOBRE but my favorite is still WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Milage will no doubt vary.

Another Robert Hossein little gem that should be restored to favor.It might be ,relatively speaking,his discreet charm of the bourgeoisie. A dozen of elegant people are gathered in a writer's desirable mansion .In the grand tradition of Agatha Christie ,they all have got something to hide.They begin a cruel game of truth ,a game where you're not supposed to tell lies.As the questions become more and more intimate and precise,the tempers rise ,while outside the storm is raging.Enter a hateful person (played by Paul Meurisse ,the nasty headmaster in "les diaboliques") who seems to know a lot about them.He's murdered.Whodunit?Hossein creates a stifling atmosphere and although the characters do not move outside of the apartment,he avoids filmed stage production traps.Good cast including Jean-Louis Trintignant ,Jean Servais and Robert Hossein himself.Cast and credits come at the end only ,like in many films of today."Continuously" best describes its construction.