Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
"Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" (original title)

A self-assured business man murders his employer, the husband of his adulterer, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Roger Nimier (adaptation), Louis Malle (adaptation),

Stars:

Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeanne Moreau	...	Florence Carala
Maurice Ronet	...	Julien Tavernier
Georges Poujouly	...	Louis
Yori Bertin	...	Véronique
Jean Wall	...	Simon Carala
Elga Andersen	...	Frieda Bencker
Sylviane Aisenstein	...	Yvonne, La fille du bar
Micheline Bona	...	Geneviève
Gisèle Grandpré	...	Jacqueline Mauclair
Jacqueline Staup	...	Anna
Marcel Cuvelier	...	Le réceptionniste du motel
Gérard Darrieu	...	Maurice
Charles Denner	...	L'adjoint du commissaire Cherrier
Hubert Deschamps	...	Le substitut du procureur
Jacques Hilling	...	Le garagiste

Storyline

Florence Carala and her lover Julien Tavernier, an ex - paratrooper want to murder her husband by faking a suicide. But after Julien has killed him and he puts his things in his car, he finds he has forgotten the rope outside the window and he returns to the building to remove it...

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Plot Keywords:

rope | murder | alibi | german | telephone operator | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Rialto Pictures

Country:

France

Language:

French German

Release Date:

29 January 1958 (France)

Also Known As:

Frantic

Filming Locations:

26 Rue de Courcelles, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$7,354 (USA) (24 June 2005)

Gross:

$263,404 (USA) (16 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mercedes-Benz "Gullwing" 300SLs are highly sought-after collector cars now. Produced from 1954 to 1957, they originally sold for $11,000 USD. A pair (Gullwing and Roadster) were offered together for $1.3 million USD in 2009, and in 2012 an extremely rare 1955 model with aluminum body (of which only 29 were made) was sold for $4.62 million USD.

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Goofs

After becoming soaked while walking around the city in a rain storm in search of Julien, Florence arrives at the bar with her hair dry and still perfectly coiffed, as well as dry clothing and perfect make-up.

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Quotes

Julien Tavernier: How many billions did the Indochina War bring you? And now Algeria, how much?

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Connections

Remade as Shikeidai no erebêtâ (2010)

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Soundtracks

Played by:
Miles Davis - trumpet
Barney Wilen - tenor saxophone
Rene Urtreger - piano
Pierre Michelot - contrabass
Kenny Clarke - drums

User Reviews

My Friend before Dinner

I never physically met the man, but I consider Malle an old friend.

He made two films that I think are among the most perfect and intellectually adventurous I know. He also made some good films that aren't life-changing but that show insight. This is one of them.

There are no new ideas here. It unfolds as one expects. The drama is muted to the point of homeopathy.

And yet we like it because it is so economical. Its bare, honest, true. So we like it, just like we gravitate to an open person regardless of whether she is dumb. I appreciate Bresson for this, his economy which blesses the viewer with a mind that necessarily filters what we see. But Bresson goes too far and presses into the impress of abstraction. Malle is real because it is overtly untheatrical.

Its worth seeing because it is seamless bamboo and because it informs "Vanya" and "Dinner." But in terms of its effect; its callow post-noir noir. And it has that hint at the end of a "film" within that condemns the couple.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.