Au nom de la loi

1932
1h 35m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

126

YOUR RATING

Crime Drama

A policeman is killed when he tries to investigate a case involving cocaine traffic. The only evidence of the crime is a white female's bloodstained glove found in an abandoned taxi and a re... Read allA policeman is killed when he tries to investigate a case involving cocaine traffic. The only evidence of the crime is a white female's bloodstained glove found in an abandoned taxi and a revolver. After thorough researches, the police will be tightening the circle around a woman... Read allA policeman is killed when he tries to investigate a case involving cocaine traffic. The only evidence of the crime is a white female's bloodstained glove found in an abandoned taxi and a revolver. After thorough researches, the police will be tightening the circle around a woman of Polish origin.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

126

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Photos21

+ 15

User reviews2

6.5126

Featured reviews

6dbdumonteil

The French cops investigate..

Maurice Tourneur,who was back in France in the early thirties,made an undistinguished work "Accusée Levez-Vous" which was pure filmed stage production style.But "Au Nom de La Loi" is a return to good directing ,as far as cinema is concerned.The ending,when the traffickers are encircled in their flat while a crowd is watching in the street,probably stems from Tourneur's American career.Alfred HItchcock 's final scene in "the man who knew too much" (1934) is similar.Even Marcel Carné's "Le Jour se Lève" (1939)owes something to it,including teargas.

The French Police investigate drug traffickers.Among them is a dangerous femme fatale ,Sandra (Marcelle Chantal,cast against type,for she was par excellence the bourgeois woman of the French melodrama),with whom a young cop,Marcel (Jean Marchat)falls in love. A whole scene shows the two lovers smoking dope on a boat.

Charles Vanel who made more movies than any other French actors,is cast as Lancelot (sic) the loyal cop.

6esman12

Early French film noir in semi-documentary style

Directed by Maurice Tourneur (father of Jacques Tourneur), this fast-paced proto-noir tells the story of French policemen investigating a drug trafficking case after one of them got killed. I would not consider it a masterpiece, although it is still nice to see one of the main influences of film noir "à la française" outside of later American productions. One of the best things about this film is the filming locations, which really aim at showing how the French underworld looked like in the 1930s. The intensive use of contrasting lighting, characteristic of film noir, should also be highlighted.