Dashing legionnaire Jean Gabin loses his head over a heartless high maintenance gold-digger played by Mireille Balin. She has no intention of leaving her sugar daddy and it all ends in tears in this glossy star vehicle reuniting the leads of 'Pépé le Moko'. Handsomely mounted and sumptuously photographed by veteran German cameraman Günther Rittau, it looks good but the material scarcely merits the money, talent and care that has gone into its production. The characters are unsympathetic and a thuddingly trite coincidence concerning Gabin's old army buddy René Lefevre is worked into the plot in order to generate a suitably melodramatic conclusion. Gabin's fall from grace because of his infatuation vaguely recalls Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich in 'The Blue Angel', with Balin's immaculately dressed femme fatale more poison maiden than great bitch.
Review of Lady Killer
