Les démons de l'aube (1946) User Reviews

Correction to our dear dbdumonteil's review.

[fonteius · 6/10 · 29 December 2019]

Just watched the copy shown on TV5 monde. The 15/08/44 landing was the one in Provence not in Normandy (The lieutenant villa is set in Toulon and the commando's base in Tripolitaine i.e. Tunisia). There is no "love rivalry" between the Lieutenant (Marchall) and the ex-maquisard (Valmy). Instead, Valmy suspects Marchall to be responsible for the arrestation and/or death of his group of resistants. He volunteers to join the French commando in Tunisia not knowing Marchall will be his superior. The 2 attacks by the commando are done well but I wonder if some bits are missing making the action difficult to understand. Young Simone Signoret strikes me as being not only a promissing actress but also very pretty. And Jean Carmet is competent but has not yet found his future usual self.

Only historically interesting

[dbdumonteil · 14 February 2006]

...But not for the reasons you think of.Although it's the story of a commando getting ready for the Normandy landings ,it's essentially notable because it's the first Allégret film featuring Simone Signoret.Signoret would become famous with Allégret's next film "Dédée d'Anvers" where she played the lead .Such was not the case in "Demons" where she 's got only a supporting (and I mean supporting) part as Lily the innkeeper .

Anyway this is a man's story.Historian Jean Tulard writes that the training of the commandos presents a documentary interest.But the rest consists of a love rivalry between a lieutenant (Georges Marchall) and a Maquis.