Casque d'Or (1952)

Three gangsters and an ex-con carpenter all fall for the same beautiful, golden-haired woman in Belle Époque France.

Director:

Jacques Becker

Writers:

Jacques Becker (scenario), Jacques Companéez (scenario)

Stars:

Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Claude Dauphin

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simone Signoret	...	Marie 'Casque d'Or'
Serge Reggiani	...	Georges Manda
Claude Dauphin	...	Félix Leca
Raymond Bussières	...	Raymond
Odette Barencey	...	La mère d'Eugène
Loleh Bellon	...	Léonie Danard
Solange Certin
Daniel Mendaille	...	Le patron de la guinguette / Guinguette
Dominique Davray	...	Julie
Jacqueline Dane
Paul Barge	...	L'inspecteur Juliani / Police Insp. Giuliani
Paul Azaïs	...	Ponsard
Jean Clarieux	...	Paul
Tony Corteggiani	...	Le commissaire / Superintendent
Émile Genevois	...	Billy (as Emile Genevois)

Storyline

In an open-air dance hall, the members of Leca's gang are relaxing with their ladies. One of them, Marie, aka "Casque d'Or" (Golden Helmet) meets Manda, a carpenter. Her man Roland belongs to the jealous kind, and Leca himself has his eye on her. A story of love, death, friendship and jealousy during the Belle Epoque.

---

Plot Keywords:

ex convict | underworld | paris underworld | tragedy | tragic love story | 

---

Taglines:

The Story of a Blonde

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Singer Eunice Waymon was so taken with Simone Signoret's performance in this film that she adopted her name for her stage persona - Nina Simone.

---

Quotes

Old Woman Joinville Bar Patron: Charming! We can't go anywhere without meeting tarts.

---

Connections

Referenced in From the Orient with Fury (1965)

---

Soundtracks

Sobre las olas
(uncredited)
Music by Juventino Rosas
[This waltz plays in the scene where Georges Manda and Marie first meet]

User Reviews

Jacques Becker: cinema as art

Jacques Becker was an artist and a director. His legacy is a trilogy of masterpieces: "Casque d'Or", "Touchez pas au Grisbi", "Le Trou", three luminous instances of cinema as art.

The linear story of "Casque d'Or" has the neatness of a Maupassant's tale. We are transferred into a most glorious epoch for French culture and art: the decline of the 19th century, the age of Impressionism. Marie (Simone Signoret) is a blond beauty, a cheerful "lost woman". She's the girl-friend of a member of a gang of small-time but ruthless criminals. She falls in first-sight-love with George Manda (Serge Reggiani) a former crook, now a honest carpenter. Predictable troubles ensue...

The atmosphere of the epoch is wonderfully recreated, with a black-and-white photography of indescribable beauty. An Impressionist Master behind the camera couldn't have done better. And, in fact, Becker was a favorite "student" of director Jean Renoir, Auguste Renoir's son. Becker's characteristic narrating style is nostalgic, serene, gently ironic. He deliberately avoids over-dark tones in his representation of the underworld, even in the middle of tragic events.

Simone Signoret is a charismatic presence on the screen: outstanding is her use of body-language to draw Marie's character, both a romantic enamoured woman and a cynical harlot. Reggiani is excellent as the laconic, tough Manda: he utters some twenty words along the whole movie, yet we perfectly understand his peculiar honor code, his profound love for Marie, his unselfish devotion to friendship. Splendid is Leca (Claude Dauphin), the boss of the gang, officially a respectable well-off wine-dealer: proficient, cool-headed, extremely cunning and Machiavellian, always ready to betray his own men to pursue his dirty purposes. Indeed, great care is paid to the design of all characters, with superb acting by the whole cast.

Exquisite poetic touches permeate the movie... Marie drags Manda into a church, where a simple wedding (of unknown middle-class people) is taking place. Shortly after, Manda is impatient "Let's go"; and Marie "No, just another minute"... and she contemplates the wedding with a dreaming smile...

"Casque d'Or": a perfect work of art.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

18 August 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Casque d'Or

Filming Locations:

Quartier de la Goutte d'Or, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert et Raymond Hakim, Spéva Films, Paris Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Optiphone)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1