Quai des Orfèvres (1947)

Jenny Lamour wants to succeed in music hall. Her husband and accompanist is Maurice Martineau, a nice but jealous guy. When he knew Jenny is making eyes at Brignon, an old businessman, in ... See full summary »

Director:

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Writers:

Stanislas-André Steeman (novel), Henri-Georges Clouzot (dialogue),

Stars:

Louis Jouvet, Simone Renant, Bernard Blier

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louis Jouvet	...	L'inspecteur adjoint Antoine
Simone Renant	...	Dora Monier
Bernard Blier	...	Maurice Martineau
Suzy Delair	...	Marguerite Chauffournier Martineau, aka Jenny Lamour
Pierre Larquey	...	Emile Lafour, un chauffeur de taxi
Jeanne Fusier-Gir	...	Pâquerette, la dame du vestiaire
Claudine Dupuis	...	Manon
Charles Dullin	...	Georges Brignon
Henri Arius	...	Léopardi, l' éditeur de musique (as Arius)
Charles Blavette	...	Le gendarme Poitevin (as Blavette)
René Blancard	...	Le commissaire principal de la P.J. (as R. Blancard)
Robert Dalban	...	Paulo, un truand (as R. Dalban)
Jean Daurand	...	L'inspecteur Picard (as J. Daurand)
Jean Dunot	...	Nitram - un chanteur comique (as J. Dunot)
Jacques Grétillat	...	Auguste (as J. Grétillat)

Storyline

Jenny Lamour wants to succeed in music hall. Her husband and accompanist is Maurice Martineau, a nice but jealous guy. When he knew Jenny is making eyes at Brignon, an old businessman, in order to get some engagements, he looses his temper and threatens Brignon with death. But Jenny went anyway to a rendez-vous at the old man's, who is murdered the same evening. The criminal investigations are lead by Inspector Antoine...

---

Plot Keywords:

investigation | businessman | music hall | dance hall | paris france | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music

---

Details

Official Sites:

distributor's webpage

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

5 March 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Quay of the Goldsmiths

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$13,139 (USA) (1 November 2002)

Gross:

$152,961 (USA) (1 August 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Majestic Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 97 min (censored)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Variable Density)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clouzot wrote almost two-thirds of the film only having read the novel years before, recalling it from memory, since it was out of print by the time he started the screenplay. When Stanislas-André Steeman saw the film, he was furious about the differences between the novel and the film.

---

Goofs

When Antoine is repeating Maurice's deposition to the typist, he says that the confrontation between Maurice and Brignon at the restaurant took place on Wednesday, December 2, 1946. In 1946, December 2 fell on a Monday.

---

Connections

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: La monnaie de l'absolu (1998)

---

Soundtracks

"Avec son tralala, son petit tralala, elle faisait tourner toutes les têtes"
Music by Francis Lopez
Lyrics by André Hornez
Sung by Jenny Lamour (Suzy Delair)

User Reviews

Perhaps Clouzot's best film, certainly the lightest

A nice, humorous mix of music hall (in the first third mostly) and police procedural mystery as the various suspects' stories start to collapse. The final exposure of the murder may come as a surprise if you don't watch closely. A gritty look at Paris of the time. You can ignore the final scene (the Hollywood ending). Louis Jouvet is best as the police inspector who seems to be just passing through, but is really on top of things.