Le dos au mur (1958)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Edouard Molinaro

Writers:

François Chavane (writer)
Frédéric Dard (dialogue)

Release Date:

7 March 1958 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Jeanne Moreau	...	Gloria Decrey
Gérard Oury	...	Jacques Decrey
Philippe Nicaud	...	Yves Normand
Claire Maurier	...	Ghislaine
Gérard Buhr	...	Mario
George Cusin
Robert Bazil
Jean Degrave	...	Le bijoutier
Richard Francoeur	...	Un invité
Françoise Honorat
Joëlle Janin
Robert Le Béal	...	Me Lombard, l'avocat
Marguerite Lorne
Micheline Luccioni	...	La postière
Jacques Mancier

Also Known As:

Back to the Wall (USA)
Evidence in Concrete (UK)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont (SNEG)

Something's lacking here.

Released at the same time as "ascenseur pour l'échafaud" ,both featuring the same actress (Jeanne Moreau),but unlike Louis Malle's work,not labelled "nouvelle vague" "le dos au mur" has enough assets to catch the viewer's attention:outside Moreau,a screenplay adapted from a Frederic Dard 's Novel,with an action packed ending,and the desperate mood we find in every Dard-inspired film noir :such Moreau lines as "I could not live without him anymore,but I could not stand life without him "is the hero's only solace before his fate is sealed.

Gerard Oury who would direct such French blockbusters as "le corniaud" (1964) and "la grande vadrouille" (1966) is not much of an actor and his part should have been given to Robert Hossein,the par excellence Dard actor.Besides ,the screenplay which uses the long flashback one more time(one too many) laboriously progresses in the first half,with a much too slow pace.Worth a try all the same.