Casque d'Or (1952)
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Spoilers (2)
Literary critics at the time were outraged by the fact that Jacques Becker chose to emphasize atmospherics at the expense of psychology. Nevertheless, Becker's approach had a profound effect on the young film-makers that would later go on to form the French New Wave, thereby changing French cinema forever.
This was Jacques Becker's own favorite film, and the only one of his movies to receive wide international release.
The film failed miserably on its release in France. Across the English Channel, however, it was a hit, with Simone Signoret winning the BAFTA for Best Actress in a Foreign-Language Film and the movie itself being nominated for Best Film.
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.
Simone Signoret was supposed to have taken waltz lessons for the scene where her character dances but she hadn't, so her co-star Serge Reggiani had to prop her up and twirl her round in an imitation of waltzing.
The original plotline for the film was about an executioner and a criminal, instead of the heartfelt romance that ultimately made up the plot.
This caused a little stir in its day for its frank depiction of love-making. The two lovers clearly share a bed (rarely shown in those days), and Serge Reggiani is quite obviously naked when he gets up out from between the sheets.
Amelie Helie, the real-life source of the story and one of Paris' most notorious prostitutes, sought to exploit the events that inspired the film by playing herself in a stage musical called "Casque d'Or et les Apaches". It was swiftly shut down, however, by the city's police chief, fearing it might inflame further gang warfare.
Serge Reggiani was cast on the strength of his performance in La Ronde (1950). Previously he was known for playing seedy characters. This film opened up all sorts of different opportunities for him, mainly as one of France's leading chanteurs.
Julien Duvivier lobbied hard to direct but negotiations fell through. It was then offered to Yves Allégret, Jean Renoir and Henri-Georges Clouzot until it finally made its way to Jean Becker.
Simone Signoret's BAFTA-winning performance in this film was instrumental in bringing her to the attention of the producers of Room at the Top (1959).
Director Jacques Becker was so disheartened by the film's commercial failure that he took on a more populist assignment as his next film. -Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1954) is generally considered to be his worst film.
Simone Signoret -at the beginning of her love affair with Yves Montant- was with him on the shooting of « wage of fear" when the production of « Casque d'or » was supposed to start. Refusing to leave Montand even for few days, she decide to give up her next film. Jacques Becker called her the morning after and told her quietly not to worry, because Martine Carol was ready to take over the role of Marie on a short notice. The very next day, Signoret was back at the studio.
Spoilers
French New Wave director François Truffaut, who was a fervent admirer of the film's director, Jacques Becker, particularly praised the film's final scene. In a 1965 introduction to the film's published script, he wrote: "If you're at all interested in how stories are constructed, you cannot fail to admire the ingenuity of the plot, particularly the strong, oblique, unexpected way it gets abruptly to Manda's execution in a scene that is as beautiful as it is mysterious, as the Casque d'Or [Marie] arrives in the middle of the night at a disreputable hotel. When I or any of my fellow scenarists are in trouble, we often say to each other, 'How about a "Casque d'Or" solution?'"
The movie is based on the real story of prostitute Amélie Elie (1878-1933) for whom two men fought: Manda and Leca. Similarities between the movie and actual facts include: the name of the two men, the period, the environment, the basis of the story. However the movie diverges in different ways, notably: Manda is a worker (instead of a gang leader), he meets Marie after Leca (instead of before), he first fights with Roland (instead of Leca), Manda and Leca die (instead of being imprisoned and deported). For information, Amélie Elie afterwards married and settled down.
