Les violents (1957)

Pierre Tercelin who used to be a prosperous industrialist is now ruined and embittered, having become a mere lock keeper. A widower, he lives with his daughter Evelyne, a music-hall dancer.... See full summary »

Director:

Henri Calef

Writers:

Henri Calef (adaptation), Jacques Chabannes (dialogue),

Stars:

Paul Meurisse, Françoise Fabian, Fernand Ledoux

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Meurisse	...	Inspecteur Principal Malouvier
Françoise Fabian	...	Evelyne Tiercelin
Fernand Ledoux	...	Pierre Tiercelin
Béatrice Altariba	...	Lisiane Chartrain (as Béatrice Alta-Riba)
Jean Meyer	...	Eugène Gallois
Marie-Hélène Astier
Paul Guers	...	Philippe de Coppet
Louis Arbessier	...	Me Rodier
Daniel Clérice	...	Léo Geens / Pierrot
Mag-Avril	...	(as Mag Avril)
Daniel Mendaille	...	Le patron du bistrot
Jean Droze	...	Julien (as Jean Droz)
Alain Quercy	...	Bernard Chartrain - le fils
André Dumas
Jean-Jacques Lécot	...	(as Jean-Jacques Lecot)

Storyline

Pierre Tercelin who used to be a prosperous industrialist is now ruined and embittered, having become a mere lock keeper. A widower, he lives with his daughter Evelyne, a music-hall dancer. Claiming he is being persecuted by his cousin Edgar he gets in touch again with another cousin of his he hates, Bernard, a millionaire gun runner,who is also a victim of Edgar. It must be said that both Pierre and Bernard once caused Edgar to go bankrupt... Pierre offers Bernard to join efforts against Edgar. Soon after, Bernard dies of poison, which is only the first of a series of acts of violence. Tiercelin is shot at while going back home, Bernard's son is gunned down while his sister Luciane disappears. Chief-inspector Malouvier - who oddly enough looks very much like the suspect- investigates....

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

10 January 1958 (France)

Also Known As:

Los violentos

Filming Locations:

Aubervilliers, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ocean Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Whodunit in the dark

"Les Violents " should have been Calef's best movie.Unfortunately it is not.The opening is brilliant : a murky dark atmosphere where a strange silhouette moves ,sometimes you can only see threatening eyes in the dark.A great moment:the captain to a frightened Ledoux: "what does he look like?" "he looks like you" .

The problem is the number of characters :there are so many persons on the screen that it's very hard to catch up with the plot.Calef had qualities,but creating a supporting character was not his forte (in "la Passante " it's also obvious).The ending is meant to be surprising and it is ,but it's so implausible you can't say it packs a wallop .

Best performance comes from Fernand Ledoux ,as a jaded bitter man ,whose life has been ruined by his cousin.For the rest,it's a faceless cast,even the talented Paul Meurisse.