Franju made the decision to keep to a period setting. It was a good decision. There is a hint that the movie in fact takes place in 1914. He also decided to shoot the movie in black-and-white. The intention was clearly to capture both the tone and the look of the original serial.
The movie starts slowly so you have to be a bit patient at first. Then we get to the masked ball scene, with all the bird masks. It’s a bit creepy and disturbing and the way it’s filmed makes it feel more odd. This is where the movie starts to get interesting.
The story begins with rich banker Favraux (Michel Vitold) receiving a letter from the mysterious Judex. Favraux is to give half his fortune to his victims by midnight or face the consequences. Favraux’s fortune has been amassed by decidedly dishonest means.
Favraux also has quite a bit of blood on his hands.
Judex means to bring Favraux to justice and he obviously intends this justice to be swift and final, without the tiresome necessity to involve the proper authorities. Judex is however a just man and he is determined that no harm should come to the banker’s daughter Jacqueline (Edith Scob). She has given proof of her honesty and virtue. Jacqueline has a little girl.
Favraux has been pursuing the little girl’s governess, Marie Verdier (Francine Bergé). He wants her to be his mistress. If necessary he will even marry her.
Having Judex coming after him is bad enough but Favraux has other problems although he isn’t yet aware of them. Judex is not the only one targeting him. There are others, and they are targeting him for other reasons.
As the movie progresses the plot gradually becomes more outrageous and more reliant on coincidence and just generally much more fun, and much more in the spirit of the original serial. There are all the plot devices you could ask for. There are secret passageways, kidnappings, hidden cameras, people being drugged, narrow escapes, and rooftop chases.
Also involved is private detective Cocantrin (Jacques Jouanneau). At first we assume he’s going to be a stereotypical bumbling private eye but he turns out to be at least moderately competent.
Initially I felt that Channing Pollock was perhaps a little bit bland as Judex but I’m inclined to think that may have been deliberate. Judex is after all an enigma. Interestingly Channing Pollock was a very successful stage magician before trying his hand at acting. He gets to do some magic tricks here. I would still have preferred a hero with a bit more charisma.
It’s the women who stand out. Edith Scob brings a fragile beauty to the role of the virtuous heroine Jacqueline ad she’s likeable.
Sylva Koscina is a delight (and looks totally gorgeous) as Cocantrin’s circus acrobat friend Daisy.
But what a movie like this really needs is a fine sexy bad girl. And Francine Bergé as Marie Verdier delivers the goods in great style. She gets to wear a variety of rather wonderful costumes and even disguises herself as a disturbingly sexy nun. She totally dominates the movie. We’re shocked by her wickedness but we love her for it. All the world loves a bad girl.
It’s amusing to see one of the characters reading one of the Fantômas novels of Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, Fantômas being the great French pulp fiction arch-criminal. Louis Feuillade made three ground-breaking serials between 1913 - Fantômas, Les Vampires and Judex.
On the whole this is enjoyable stuff although perhaps it needed just a tad more energy, and a tad more visual flamboyance. It’s the wonderful villainess who is by far the film’s biggest asset. Recommended, and Francine Bergé is enough to promote it to the highly recommended category.
The Criterion DVD looks good once you manage to remove it from its case, a task that is easily accomplished with the aid of a crowbar and gelignite.
The movie starts slowly so you have to be a bit patient at first. Then we get to the masked ball scene, with all the bird masks. It’s a bit creepy and disturbing and the way it’s filmed makes it feel more odd. This is where the movie starts to get interesting.
The story begins with rich banker Favraux (Michel Vitold) receiving a letter from the mysterious Judex. Favraux is to give half his fortune to his victims by midnight or face the consequences. Favraux’s fortune has been amassed by decidedly dishonest means.
Favraux also has quite a bit of blood on his hands.
Favraux has been pursuing the little girl’s governess, Marie Verdier (Francine Bergé). He wants her to be his mistress. If necessary he will even marry her.
Having Judex coming after him is bad enough but Favraux has other problems although he isn’t yet aware of them. Judex is not the only one targeting him. There are others, and they are targeting him for other reasons.
Also involved is private detective Cocantrin (Jacques Jouanneau). At first we assume he’s going to be a stereotypical bumbling private eye but he turns out to be at least moderately competent.
Initially I felt that Channing Pollock was perhaps a little bit bland as Judex but I’m inclined to think that may have been deliberate. Judex is after all an enigma. Interestingly Channing Pollock was a very successful stage magician before trying his hand at acting. He gets to do some magic tricks here. I would still have preferred a hero with a bit more charisma.
Sylva Koscina is a delight (and looks totally gorgeous) as Cocantrin’s circus acrobat friend Daisy.
But what a movie like this really needs is a fine sexy bad girl. And Francine Bergé as Marie Verdier delivers the goods in great style. She gets to wear a variety of rather wonderful costumes and even disguises herself as a disturbingly sexy nun. She totally dominates the movie. We’re shocked by her wickedness but we love her for it. All the world loves a bad girl.
On the whole this is enjoyable stuff although perhaps it needed just a tad more energy, and a tad more visual flamboyance. It’s the wonderful villainess who is by far the film’s biggest asset. Recommended, and Francine Bergé is enough to promote it to the highly recommended category.
The Criterion DVD looks good once you manage to remove it from its case, a task that is easily accomplished with the aid of a crowbar and gelignite.
I've recently become interested in the international spy/crime thrillers that popped up in the wake of James Bond's popularity. While this is more "adjacent," given its historical setting, it still seems a comfortable fit for the early Bondian zeitgeist. Very intriguing!
ReplyDeleteP.S.: It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who struggles with packaging that seems designed to drive poor consumers crazy!
And those outrageous French serials made by Louis Feuillade between 1913 and 1916 can be seen as Bondian precursors. Franju added a bit of a 60s sensibility that definitely gives his movie some of that 60s eurospy vibe.
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