Summary
Monsieur Batala is an inveterate womaniser who runs a publishing house, and is heavily
in debt. In a last desperate attempt to stave off his creditors he prints Wild West
short stories by one of his employee’s, Monsieur Lange. Realising the game is up,
Batala goes on the run. The train he takes to escape crashes, but he survives.
He fakes is own death by changing clothes with a clergyman. In the meantime, Batala’s
former employees have formed a co-operative and the printing firm is enjoying great success.
Lange’s "Arizona Jim" stories are selling like hot cakes. The employees are celebrating
their success when Batala turns up and confronts Lange. In a moment of passion,
Lange kills Batala and flees with his girlfriend, Valentine.
Review
In Le Crime de Monsieur Lange, Renoir uses a simple story to reflect the political
mood of the time. The film has a distinctly anti-capitalistic message, suggesting
that co-operation between workers can achieve far more than a capitalist worker-manager
régime.
The despicable Monsieur Batala (played superbly by Jules Berry) is the embodiment of the
worst of the capitalist state, morally lax, deceitful, self-interested. By contrast, the
meek Monsieur Lange, represents the socialist ideal, and he is transformed into the hero
when he disposes of Batala. The unwordly idealist triumphs over the unscrupulous
standard-bearer of a corrupt system.
The film is cleverly shot in a number of cramped buildings around a square, again reinforcing
the idea of solidarity between workers. The sound quality suffers as a result of
Renoir’s reluctance to use dubbing, but the camera work more than makes up for that.
Whilst it may lack the maturity and depth of some of Renoir's subsequent films, Le
Crime de Monsieur Lange is nonetheless a pleasing example of classic 1930s French
cinema.
© James Travers 2000
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