Summary
Between eleven o’clock and midnight one evening, a notorious trafficker Jérôme
Vidauban is shot whilst walking in a subway in Paris. The case is assigned to Inspector
Carrel, who is Vidauban’s perfect double. Using his resemblance to the arch
criminal, Carrel manages to infiltrate Vidauban’s circle of acquaintances and contacts.
He becomes embroiled in a bizarre web of intrigue and discovers no shortage of possible
murder suspects, all of whom appear to be surprised to see him still alive…
Review
Although the crime thriller had not yet achieved the popularity in France which it would
in the following decade, the 1940s was really where the genre had its origins. At
the time few French films attained the calibre of the American film noir classics which
film directors were keen to emulate, but a few have stood the test of time and remain
excellent examples of the early crime thriller. Entre onze heures et minuit is
one such film – a curious pastiche of film noir, with a very tongue-in-cheek yet
sophisticated comic side.
The film was directed by Henri Decoin who showed a genuine flair for the French crime
thriller and contributed enormously to the popularity of such films, including the successful
Razzia sur la chnouff.
Louis Jouvet, a great man of stage theatre who achieved even greater fame as a screen
actor in the 1930s and 40s, plays the dual role of Inspector Carrel and Carel impersonating
the crook Vidauban. Jouvet appears fleetingly uncomfortable with the film’s
comic elements but his is nonetheless a spell-binding performance. He plays the
part of the taciturn yet seductive hard man with a cast iron conviction that would put
even Humphrey Bogart to shame.
The influence of the American film noir is all too clearly evident, with its use of shadowy
apartments, seedy bars, chic restaurants, and a bunch of twisted amoral characters on
both size of the law. The comic element (particularly the film’s opening segment
which makes a bizarre attempt to render the film’s plot plausible) is a curious
innovation and it this which, perversely, gives the film its drama and edge of dangerous
unpredictability.
© James Travers 2001
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