Elevator to the Gallows (1958)

A self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Roger Nimier (adaptation), Louis Malle (adaptation)

Stars:

Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeanne Moreau	...	Florence Carala
Maurice Ronet	...	Julien Tavernier
Georges Poujouly	...	Louis
Yori Bertin	...	Véronique
Jean Wall	...	Simon Carala
Elga Andersen	...	Frieda Bencker
Sylviane Aisenstein	...	Yvonne, La fille du bar
Micheline Bona	...	Geneviève
Gisèle Grandpré	...	Jacqueline Mauclair
Jacqueline Staup	...	Anna
Marcel Cuvelier	...	Le réceptionniste du motel
Gérard Darrieu	...	Maurice
Charles Denner	...	L'adjoint du commissaire Cherrier
Hubert Deschamps	...	Le substitut du procureur
Jacques Hilling	...	Le garagiste

Storyline

Florence Carala and her lover Julien Tavernier, an ex - paratrooper want to murder her husband by faking a suicide. But after Julien has killed him and he puts his things in his car, he finds he has forgotten the rope outside the window and he returns to the building to remove it...

---

Plot Keywords:

french noir | black and white film | war veteran | france | murder investigation | 

---

Taglines:

The most tense, taut 24 hours that ever confronted a woman and her lover.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Rialto Pictures

Country:

France

Language:

French German

Release Date:

29 January 1958 (France)

Also Known As:

Elevator to the Gallows

Filming Locations:

29 Rue de Courcelles, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,354, 26 June 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$109,257, 16 December 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tiny camera is Minox. It was originally developed as a luxury item, but it gained notoriety from its use as a spy camera.

---

Goofs

After being released from the lift, Julien is running to his car. If not been stolen, it would have been out of petrol after the engine was running the whole night. Furthermore it would have been quite wet inside after the heavy thunderstorm with the roof open.

---

Quotes

Julien Tavernier: How many billions did the Indochina War bring you? And now Algeria, how much?

---

Connections

Referenced in Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie: Mélodie mortelle (2018)

---

Soundtracks

Florence Sur Les Champs-Élysées
Composed by Miles Davis
Performed by Miles Davis (Trumpet), Barney Wilen (Tenor Saxophone), René Urtreger (Piano), Pierre Michelot (Bass) and Kenny Clarke (Drums)

User Reviews

The Camera has more than one picture

Greetings again from the darkness. The phrase Film Noir conjures up a certain feel and look and "Gallows" certainly captures what we have come to expect from the genre. However, the great director Louis Malle goes even further with his minimalistic approach to sound, lighting and dialog. Where 1944's "Double Indemnity" wreaks explosive on screen passion, Malle offers up a quiet simmering that draws the viewer into the lives of the main characters.

Jeanne Moreau is the perfect pouty French femme fatale. Her scenes of walking (wandering) the dark, rainy streets of Paris are chilling to watch for film lovers. The weak lighting and lack of make-up allow Moreau's true emotions to guide us. Malle also is tremendous in his filming of the elevator scenes with Maurice Ronet.

The secondary characters of the young lovers played by Yori Bertin (Veronique) and George Poujouly (Louis) are unmistakable in their likeness to Natalie Wood and James Dean. Watching two young kids carelessly destroy their own lives, as well as that of others, is quite the contrast to the well-conceived scheme of Moreau and Ronet.

I have not been able to come up with an apt description of the powerfully improvised jazz score from the legendary Miles Davis. The approach has been mimicked over the years, but never duplicated. It is startling in its ability to slap the viewer in the face! Moreau is of course a screen legend and went on to star in "Jules and Jim", Truffaut's "The Four Hundred Blows" and my personal favorite, "The Bride Wore Black". As great as she was in all of these, I am not sure her essence was ever better captured than her wandering through the Paris streets in "Elevator to the Gallows".