Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

markmuhl Louis Malle is telling a simple story: when committing a crime like murder don't make easy mistakes since this will give space to unforeseeable events and justice will prevail. Some parts of the story may seem a bit overdone in order to demonstrate the unpredictability of other actors involved but on the other hand the movie hardly ever loses its style and it's this style that excels. When beautiful Jeanne Moreau, in her despair of supposed betrayed love, is walking alone the nightly streets of Paris accompanied by the fine jazz tunes of Miles Davis then it feels like contemplating a valuable piece of art.It is also true that the side story of the young couple borrowing the car of Mr. Tavernier is a bit awkward and not too persuasive but on the other hand the play of young flower-girl Veronique is really impressive. What an outgoing and enthusiastic but weak and shy character at the same time. I am sure even today's teenagers could relate to her.Moreover, the movie is not simply a crime story but also has its social and political statements. The victim of the planned murder (next to an unplanned murder) is an unscrupulous arms-dealer who has his connections into the highest political ranks. This does not provide a favorable picture of a post war France, which is even worsened by the submissive and hypocritical behavior that great parts of society show towards this influential man. Only drunkard Mr. Subervie is naming him the right way and by doing so he even stresses the hypocrisy surrounding him.Last but not least Lino Ventura gives a cool and pragmatic detective, a role he should become famous for in his career. The police questioning scene in the dark with the two detectives interrogating Maurice Ronnet for a crime he has not committed is another highlight of the movie.

classicsoncall At the risk of sounding flippant, this film looks like something Hitchcock and Serling might have come up with had they collaborated. But the idea that a twenty four year old Louis Malle directed it makes me wonder how such a young film maker could have been so knowledgeable and worldly to pull it off. There's a lot of fine tension and irony in the picture, and the Miles Davis score has a way of hooking the viewer into a world that's furtively dishonorable.Yet there are some bothersome elements as well. The business with leaving the rope behind was just too big a blunder and struck me as completely out of character for a veteran like Tavernier (Maurice Ronet). Seeing it dangle from street level only added to the mystery of how Tavernier could possibly have remained unnoticed as he made his way to the upper floor in full view.Interestingly, what Malle does best here is the way he telegraphs the next twist in the story while making the viewer feel good about figuring it out. Tavernier leaves the car running so someone could take off with it, and sure enough, Louis does. Veronique uses the Tavernier name and the Benckers wind up with a murderer who makes the front page for one he didn't commit. Each step of the way you can pretty much figure out what will happen next, but at the same time it seems like a revelation when it occurs. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.So, for a picture I'd never even heard of before, this turned out to be quite the find at my little town library this evening. The cinematography is gorgeous and Jeanne Moreau seduces the screen with all the noir fatalism one could ask for. With all the bad luck these characters created for themselves, I would have been disappointed if there were no black cat.

gizmomogwai Elevator to the Gallows, directed by Louis Malle, came out in France in 1958, the same year as Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo- and they bear noticeable similarities. Indeed, the Criterion Collection's booklet on Elevator cites Hitchcock as an influence on Malle. Both films are about attempts to carry out the perfect murder, with classic motives. Both are atmospheric and rich. Elevator to the Gallows may not be as famous, and I think it's somewhat underrated- Leonard Maltin gave it a lukewarm rating and claimed it "doesn't hold up," but failed to explain how and by what standards. He even got the name of the movie wrong, calling it by its bastardized title Frantic. I'd say Malle's film is one of the best I've seen from France and from the 1950s.In it, Julien Tavernier kills a man named Simon Carala because he's in love with Carala's wife Florence, played by the beautiful Jeanne Moreau. He tries to make it look like suicide, then forgets a key piece of evidence outside the scene of the crime. Going back to get it, he gets caught in the elevator, while his car is stolen by a young couple. The young man impersonates Tavernier, and then commits a murder of his own, for which the real Tavernier is blamed by the French press (which evidently doesn't have to obey libel laws).Elevator is a very good yarn, as two separate murders happen to be thrown together as a wicked twist of fate, with guns fired not by their owners. Some reviewers have questioned how Tavernier could have forgotten such an important piece of evidence, but come on- he had committed a crime, and probably wanted to be done with it as quickly as possible; forgetting things is understandable under the stressful circumstances. Like Orson Welles with Citizen Kane, Malle made a real cinematic achievement at a young age, and more people should see this movie.

morrison-dylan-fan Ever since hearing a number of critics widely praise films from the French New Wave I have always gotten a feeling of intimidation and inaccessibility from the wide group of films due to how most of the mainstream critics seem to constantly try and put the New Wave films in a special box just for themselves.After having become completely fascinated by tremendous "genre" films from Italy and Sweden,I started to look over at the New Wave films from France and began to feel that I should completely tear down the wall of intimidation around them by jumping straight into one of the first ever French New Wave films made that also starred one of the most famous (and most loved) actresses from the period The plot:Finishing his latest phone call by arranging a meeting with his secret lover Florence Carala,Julien Tavernier goes back to his office and tells all his staff that he is not to be disturbed for any reason.Gathering up a rope,gloves and a fully loaded gun,Julien quietly grapples his way to a building on the opposite side where Tavernier plans to stage an I'm prov meeting with his boss,who is also Florence's husband.Succeeding in getting the short meeting to take place,Tavernier shoots his soon to be ex-boss in a style which will make it look like a suicide.Feeling that he should get back to his office before anyone gets suspicious,Julien picks up everything and quickly glides back to his office.Getting set to finally spend the rest of his life with the now-widowed Carala,Tavernier walks past two rebellious looking teenagers and jumps straight into his gleaming car.Just as Julien is about to set off ,he has a look back at the building Tavernier gets a feeling of terror running down his spine when he notices that during the rush to get back to safety he had accidentally left the grappling rope hanging outside the room where the murder had taken place!.Leaving the car still running,Julian makes a dash for the lift in the building so that he can correct his dangerous mistake.As the lift starts nearing the all important floor,Tavernier is suddenly left trapped and with no where to run when the buildings lift is shout down as the staff close the office block down to get set for all having the weekend off work.Meanwhile outside,the two teenagers start to take a real interest in Julien's abandoned car and soon decide that they will steal it so the they can use it for some wild weekend travailing.Driving down one of the cities main roads,the teens inadvertently drive past lady in waiting Florence Carala,who due to mistaking one of the teens for Julien begins a long furious search for him all over the city which will lead to her and Tavernier discovering that their troubles are far from being confined in a shut down lift. View on the film:For his tremendous directing of what is possibly the first ever French New Wave film, Louis Malle (who also wrote the stunning screenplay adaptation of Noel Calef's novel with Roger Nimer)starts the new era off with a "bang", as the film opens on a proto-Segio Leone extreme close up of a beautiful Jeanne Moreau.Checking for any info about the making of the film,one of the very best decisions that I feel Malle made was to show Moreau's face with no make up on at all,which along with allowing Malle to show Florence as a real femme fatale who is more than ready to walk through the shadows of the city to catch the smallest glimpse of her murdering lover,also allows Jeanne to give an elegant performance as she shows Florence to go from being self assured of her and Julian's murder plot,to shivering with fear as Florence realises that the situation has gotten completely out of her control.Whilst Moreau unforgettable face does open this fantastic film,the rest of the cast easily deserve equal praise,with the sadly under rated Maurice Ronet giving a terrific performance as Julian Tavernier who along with showing a chilling precision of executing the murder is also able to show an increase feeling of dread as the walls of the lift start to close in on him as his fear of getting found really starts to take its toll on him,and also gives the audience of great sense of isolation.After opening his New Wave Film Noir on a stunning shot and a rolling score from Miles Davis,Malle brilliantly creates a world of darkness as he goes from a truly edge of the seat,gripping murder sequence to making the city filled with wonderful characters who go from an edgy proto-James Dean teenage rebel who steals a car from under everyone's nose,to a cop,who like the audience finds the activates of Florence and Julian something that he will never forget.Final view on the film:A stunning,unforgettable and extremely moody New Wave Film Noir,with an astonishing cast,a fantastic tension building screenplay and artful directing from an amazing Malle.