Gérard Oury was a specialist of hit comedies with Bourvil, Louis de Funès, Jean-Paul Belmondo....
But before directing comedies, his first efforts in directing films noirs were not successful and are today hard to find movies : "La Main Chaude" and "La Menace". "La Menace" is adapted from Frederic Dard, with Robert Hossein as a weird pharmacist. Robert Hossein is often associated with Frederic Dard's writings, as a director and/or actor : "Les Salauds Vont En Enfer", "Toi ... Le Venin", "Le Monte-Charge", these three having a strong atmosphere (just forget "Les Scélérats" in a nouvelle vague style).
"La Menace" isn't as noirish as these titles because we often see scenes with "les Marioles", a local happy gang of scooter riders. Marie-José Nat is a lonesome girl who often meets these comfortable hoodlums and she succeeds in belonging to the gang thanks to her transformation as a motorbike rider dressed in black leather (MJ Nat's performance as a motorbike rider is a must see as she is far from convincing). But MJ meets monsieur Savary (Robert Hossein) who helps her and they have a very confused love affair. This is a story hesitating between two directions, forgetting the main one with Robert Hossein, giving it very less suspense and atmosphere than it should : pity! Little details : you can often see some Lambretta scooters with the gang "les Marioles" and a Simca Versailles driven by Robert Hossein and also by Elsa Martinelli in a superb scene where she is surrounded by "les Marioles" on their Lambrettas gassing her with their mufflers ; this happens on the main place of Saint-Germain-En-Laye where the movie is sometimes shot (les Arcades and his bar, the forest next to the golf, a forest house at the entrance of the city, écluses de Bougival). You can even see the movie theatre Saint Lambert in Paris (inside and outside) with portraits of Jean-Paul Belmondo and of course Michèle Morgan.
About Gérard Oury's main contribution to film noir, we must not forget he co-wrote with Edouard Molinaro and Alain Poiré the extraordinary "Un Témoin Dans La Ville" in 1959 (adapted from Boileau and Narcejac).
After his next movie "Le Crime Ne Paie Pas", Gérard Oury listens to Louis de Funès telling him to orientate to comedy. And what a success...
But before directing comedies, his first efforts in directing films noirs were not successful and are today hard to find movies : "La Main Chaude" and "La Menace". "La Menace" is adapted from Frederic Dard, with Robert Hossein as a weird pharmacist. Robert Hossein is often associated with Frederic Dard's writings, as a director and/or actor : "Les Salauds Vont En Enfer", "Toi ... Le Venin", "Le Monte-Charge", these three having a strong atmosphere (just forget "Les Scélérats" in a nouvelle vague style).
"La Menace" isn't as noirish as these titles because we often see scenes with "les Marioles", a local happy gang of scooter riders. Marie-José Nat is a lonesome girl who often meets these comfortable hoodlums and she succeeds in belonging to the gang thanks to her transformation as a motorbike rider dressed in black leather (MJ Nat's performance as a motorbike rider is a must see as she is far from convincing). But MJ meets monsieur Savary (Robert Hossein) who helps her and they have a very confused love affair. This is a story hesitating between two directions, forgetting the main one with Robert Hossein, giving it very less suspense and atmosphere than it should : pity! Little details : you can often see some Lambretta scooters with the gang "les Marioles" and a Simca Versailles driven by Robert Hossein and also by Elsa Martinelli in a superb scene where she is surrounded by "les Marioles" on their Lambrettas gassing her with their mufflers ; this happens on the main place of Saint-Germain-En-Laye where the movie is sometimes shot (les Arcades and his bar, the forest next to the golf, a forest house at the entrance of the city, écluses de Bougival). You can even see the movie theatre Saint Lambert in Paris (inside and outside) with portraits of Jean-Paul Belmondo and of course Michèle Morgan.
About Gérard Oury's main contribution to film noir, we must not forget he co-wrote with Edouard Molinaro and Alain Poiré the extraordinary "Un Témoin Dans La Ville" in 1959 (adapted from Boileau and Narcejac).
After his next movie "Le Crime Ne Paie Pas", Gérard Oury listens to Louis de Funès telling him to orientate to comedy. And what a success...