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

When the watchman briefly turns on the power, the elevator with Julien starts going down. It got stuck, however, going 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

This film should be widely available on DVD

This film is a master piece. Miles Davis's music is superb. It is an object lesson on the art of combining sound and vision. The tension and the brooding Parisian atmosphere are heightened with cool and poignant playing. It is surprising (to the best of my knowledge) that this is the only complete original film score he produced.

The story of the crime is clever. It has reasonable human motivation and plot, and is steadily revealed. But, it is the study of 'being in the wrong place at the wrong time' that makes this film a classic. The series of chance events that will dramatically effect the characters' lives, give this film a similar feel to 'Run Lola Run' or 'Irreversible', dispute this film's linear structure and age. The dark cinematography is excellent.

I have only had an opportunity to see it once (I only just caught it because BBC4 listed it under its English title), but I would like to see it again.

The soundtrack is widely available, but I can not find the film on DVD or PAL VHS. This film should be available to a wider audience, for me, preferably in French with English subtitles.

P.S. This wonderful film is now available on DVD as part of the Louis Malle Collection: Volume 1. (Updated 11/10/2006.)