Salaire de la peur, Le (1953)

Director:

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Writers:

Georges Arnaud (novel)
Henri-Georges Clouzot (writer)

Release Date:

16 February 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Adventure | Action | Drama

Tagline:

The complete restored version of the 1953 French classic [reissue]

Plot:

In a decrepit South American village, men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.

Plot Keywords:

Explosive | Child Nudity | Expatriate | Bare Butt | Air Base

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins

Cast

Yves Montand	...	Mario
Charles Vanel	...	M. Jo
Folco Lulli	...	Luigi
Peter van Eyck	...	Bimba (as Peter Van Eyck)
Véra Clouzot	...	Linda (as Vera Clouzot)
William Tubbs	...	Bill O'Brien
Darío Moreno	...	Hernandez (as Dario Moreno)
Jo Dest	...	Smerloff
Antonio Centa	...	Camp Chief (as Centa)
Luis De Lima	...	Bernardo
Grégoire Gromoff
Joseph Palau-Fabre
Faustini
Seguna
Darling Légitimus		(as Miss Darling)

Also Known As:

Salario della paura, Il (Italy) (alternative title)
The Wages of Fear (USA)
Vite vendute (Italy)

Runtime:

131 min | France:156 min | 148 min (director's cut)

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | English | Spanish | German | Italian | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric)

Certification:

South Korea:12 (2004) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:PG | Norway:16

Filming Locations:

Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

Compagnie Industrielle et Commerciale Cinématographique (CICC)

Trivia:

Yves Montand's first dramatic role.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Mario throws a stone at Jo's face, although he stands at a higher lever, the stone seems to hit Jo's face from below.

Quotes:

Mario: When someone else is driving, I'm scared.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Speed (1994/I)

The Wages of Fear Vs. Sorcerer

Georges Arnaud's novel LE SALAIRE DE LA PEUR has been filmed twice, by Henri-Georges Clouzot as THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953) and by William Friedkin as SORCERER (1977). While both films are worth seeing, the earlier version is the one regarded as a classic, and rightly so. Although SORCERER goes into more detail about the political climate and the various misdeeds that led the four desperate protagonists to the South American hellhole where they accept high-paying but life-risking jobs driving nitroglycerin through treacherous terrain, WAGES... distinguishes the men's personalities better, giving the audience more rooting interest in them. Both films have excellent casts, with charismatic leads in Yves Montand (WAGES...) and Roy Scheider (SORCERER), plus WAGES... also provides feminine charm in the form of beguiling Vera Clouzot as the café waitress who loves Montand. Both films have tense action sequences as well, but somehow for all the staging and skillful editing, SORCERER's action scenes seem strangely slow, slogging along in the mud just like the protagonists in their less-than-state-of-the-art trucks. Both versions have enough good things in them to be worth a look, but if you only have the time and resources to check out one of them, it's WAGES... that really pays off!