Le crime de Monsieur Lange (1936)

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

Jean Castanyer (story)
Jacques Prévert (adaptation)

Release Date:

24 January 1936 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

A man and a woman arrive in a cafe-hotel near the belgian frontier. The customers recognize the man from the police's description...

Plot Keywords:

Black Comedy | Belgium | Murder | Character Name In Title

Cast

René Lefèvre	...	Amédée Lange
Florelle	...	Valentine
Jules Berry	...	Batala
Marcel Lévesque	...	The Concierge
Odette Talazac	...	The Concierge
Henri Guisol	...	The Son Meunier
Maurice Baquet	...	Charles, The Concierges' Son
Jacques B. Brunius	...	Mr. Baigneur (as J.B. Brunius)
Sylvain Itkine	...	Batala's cousin
Marcel Duhamel	...	The Foreman
Henri Saint-Isle
Pierre Huchet
René Génin	...	A Client at the Auberge (as Genin)
Max Morise
Charbonnier

Also Known As:

The Crime of Monsieur Lange (USA)

Runtime:

80 min | USA:77 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Le Tréport, Seine-Maritime, France

Company:

Films Obéron

Movie Connections:

Featured in Jean Renoir: Part One - From La Belle Époque to World War II (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Au jour, le jour, a la nuit, la nuit

Perfect, a kind of masterpiece on a few cups of coffee

Hard to believe this was made in 1934. It is further ahead than movies of today by 100 years, with ideas, ironies, and characters worthy of fine literature. A classic, made by a serious filmmaker. Maybe its most distinctive feature is its seeming absolute effortlessness. It moves along at an extremely fast pace, and if you don't watch and listen, you'll miss some gems. The villain is magnificent and done with such accuracy and a complete lack of stylized fiendishness that you realize Renoir is a master of human psychology. There are many little jokes throughout--jokes and ironies that are far beyond what people say and think today. The reaction of a man to the death of a baby, the way sex among unmarried people, even very casual sex, is portrayed as utterly normal. You have the feeling throughout that you are not watching a movie but are watching some lives pass by--it is participatory rather than self-glorifying film-making (see Oliver Stone and even some Spielberg for that) But if you like Britney Spears and think Colin Farrel can act, this isn't for you.