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| MANON (director/writer:
Henri-Georges Clouzot;
screenwriters: from the novel Manon Lescaut by Abbé
Prévost/Jean Ferry; cinematographer: Armand
Thirard; editor: Monique Kirsanoff;
music: Paul Misraki; cast: Cecile Aubrey (Manon Lescaut), Michel
Auclair (Robert Desgrieux), Henry
Gilbert (Captain), Serge
Reggiani (Leon Lescaut),
Gabrielle Dorziat (The Madame),
Raymond Souplex (Monsieur Paul);
Runtime: 100; MPAA Rating: NR; producer:
Paul-Edmond Decharme; Video Yesteryear;
1949-France-in French with English subtitles) "Clouzot's craftsmanship and style made an impression at the Venice Festival and it won Best Film in 1949." Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz Henri-Georges Clouzot ("The
Raven"/"The Wages of Fear"/"“Diabolique") directs one of his lesser
efforts and co-writes with Jean Ferry an adaptation of Abbe
Prevost's 18th century lusty classic French novel
'Manon Lescaut.' It's updated to immediately after World War II France. It was
shoddily made, the characters were sketchily drawn,
the lead couple is unlikable, the screenplay was
ridiculously inept and the novel's bawdiness was
compromised to make it more Hollywood safe,
nevertheless Clouzot's craftsmanship and style
made an impression at the Venice Festival and it won
Best Film in 1949. It did a good job capturing the
sleazy atmosphere of the low-life underground scene in
a post-war Paris. Manon Lescaut (Cecile
Aubry) is a young baby-faced diminutive resident of
Normandy, who after the liberation of her town by the
French Resistance is accused of being a collaborator
by the hostile lynch-minded mob. Resistance fighter Robert Desgrieux (Michel
Auclair)
falls for her and they flee to Paris, where she
becomes involved with smuggling in the black market
through her brother Leon's (Serge
Reggiani) connections
and becomes a prostitute in a brothel when she yearns
to live a more luxurious life. The manipulated Robert,
wanting a proper wife, becomes insanely jealous by her
sordid involvements and commits a murder. He becomes
wanted by the police and they escape together as
stowaways on a freighter filled with Jewish refugees
going to Palestine, but are caught by a crewman and
turned over to the captain (Henry
Gilbert). In
flashback we observe their perverse love connection
and sad story of survival, as they are questioned by
the captain. It leads them to the deserts of
Palestine, where they are slain by Arabs while
searching for a new identity and life. Why Robert would throw away his life for the trampy Manon is a head-scratcher, one that was not convincingly portrayed on screen and thereby left me uninvolved with the film's slovenly entanglements. REVIEWED ON 6/16/2012 GRADE: C+ Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews" © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ |