Elevator to the Gallows
Encyclopedia
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud is a 1958 French film
directed by Louis Malle
. It was released as Elevator to the Gallows in the USA (aka Frantic) and as Lift to the Scaffold in the UK. It stars Jeanne Moreau
and Maurice Ronet
as criminal lovers whose perfect crime begins to unravel when Ronet is trapped in an elevator. The film is often associated by critics with the film noir
style.http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:18507 According to recent studies, it also introduces very peculiar narrative and editing techniques so that it can be considered a very important experience at the base of the Nouvelle Vague
and the so-called New Modern Cinema
.
The movie presents also unique and completely new solutions in the history of cinema in the relationship between music and image.
The score by Miles Davis
has been described by jazz
critic Phil Johnson as "the loneliest trumpet sound you will ever hear, and the model for sad-core music ever since. Hear it and weep."
parachutist officer veteran of Indochina
and Algeria
, climbs up the office block on a rope, shoots Carala in his office without being seen, and arranges the room to make it look like a suicide. However, upon going to his car, Julien realizes he left the rope dangling outside the building. Leaving his expensive car unlocked and with the keys in the ignition, he goes to remove the evidence, but, after disposing of the rope, becomes trapped in the elevator as the building closes down for the weekend.
Julien's car is stolen by a young couple, small-time crook Louis and flower-seller Veronique (Poujouly and Bertin). Florence, who is waiting for Julien at a cafe, sees the car go by and Veronique leaning out of the window. She assumes that Julien has run off with Veronique, and wanders the Paris streets despondently all night.
Louis and Veronique spend the night in a motel, checking in under the name "Mr. and Mrs. Julien Tavernier," and make the acquaintance of a German tourist couple. The German woman takes pictures of Louis and her husband with Julien's miniature camera. After the Germans go to bed, Louis attempts to steal their luxury car. The husband catches Louis and threatens him with a "gun" (really a cigar). Louis shoots and kills the couple with Julien's handgun.
Louis and Veronique return to Paris and hide out in Veronique's flat. Convinced that their crime will be discovered and they will go to jail, Veronique persuades Louis to join her in a suicide pact. They take an overdose of pills and pass out.
The Germans' bodies are discovered, along with Julien's car, handgun, and raincoat; Julien therefore becomes the prime suspect in their deaths, and his picture is printed in the morning newspapers. The police, seeking Julien, arrive at the office building. Julien is finally able to escape from the elevator without being seen, but, on the street, is quickly recognized and arrested.
Meanwhile, the police discover Carala's body in his office, but do not suspect foul play - they believe that it was a suicide. Julien is charged with killing the Germans, and the police refuse to believe his alibi of being stuck in an elevator. Florence believes Julien's story, and goes to seek out Veronique. Her suicide attempt failed; she and Louis are both alive, but drowsy. Florence confronts the young couple and accuses them of killing the Germans. Louis still believes that there is no evidence connecting him with the crime, then remembers Julien's camera which contains photographs of him and the German man. He left the camera at the motel, and drives back there in the hopes of recovering the camera before anyone can develop the pictures. Florence pursues him, determined not to let him get away.
At the motel, the photographs have been developed. Because of the picture of Louis and the German man, Louis will indeed be charged with murdering the German tourists. However, the camera also contained photographs of Julien and Florence, embracing and smiling. The police realize that Julien and Florence were lovers, and that they plotted to kill Florence's husband. Both of them will go on trial for Mr. Carala's death.
' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
. "Moreau had 20 forgettable films behind her. ... Malle put Moreau under an honest light and wisely let his camera linger. The film was nothing special, but it did accomplish one thing: it proposed a new ideal of cinematic realism, a new way to look at a woman. All the drama in the story was in Moreau's face—the face that had been hidden behind cosmetics and flattering lights in all her earlier films. When Malle [would make] The Lovers the following year, it was obvious who his woman would be. For one thing, he had discovered her, and for another, they were in love."
French Film
French Film is a 2008 British comedy film directed by Jackie Oudney and starring Anne-Marie Duff, Hugh Bonneville, Victoria Hamilton, Douglas Henshall and Eric Cantona. The film was shot in Spring 2007 at various locations around London including Waterloo station and the BFI Southbank.-Plot:Two...
directed by Louis Malle
Louis Malle
Louis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. His films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au revoir, les enfants .- Early years in France :Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries,...
. It was released as Elevator to the Gallows in the USA (aka Frantic) and as Lift to the Scaffold in the UK. It stars Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau is a French actress, singer, screenwriter and director.She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française...
and Maurice Ronet
Maurice Ronet
Maurice Ronet was a French film actor, director and writer.-Biography:Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes, the only child of professional stage actors Émile Robinet and Gilberte Dubreuil. He made his stage debut in 1941, along side his parents, in Sacha...
as criminal lovers whose perfect crime begins to unravel when Ronet is trapped in an elevator. The film is often associated by critics with the film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
style.http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:18507 According to recent studies, it also introduces very peculiar narrative and editing techniques so that it can be considered a very important experience at the base of the Nouvelle Vague
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
and the so-called New Modern Cinema
European art cinema
European art cinema is a branch of cinema that was popular in the 1960s. The formal system that this cinema uses is based on the classical Hollywood cinema; particular a rejection of all tenets and rules of classical Hollywood cinema.-History:...
.
The movie presents also unique and completely new solutions in the history of cinema in the relationship between music and image.
The score by Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
has been described by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
critic Phil Johnson as "the loneliest trumpet sound you will ever hear, and the model for sad-core music ever since. Hear it and weep."
Synopsis
Florence Carala and Julien Tavernier (Moreau and Ronet) are illicit lovers who plan to kill Florence's husband, Simon Carala, a wealthy industrialist who is also Julien's boss. Julien, an ex-Foreign LegionFrench Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
parachutist officer veteran of Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, climbs up the office block on a rope, shoots Carala in his office without being seen, and arranges the room to make it look like a suicide. However, upon going to his car, Julien realizes he left the rope dangling outside the building. Leaving his expensive car unlocked and with the keys in the ignition, he goes to remove the evidence, but, after disposing of the rope, becomes trapped in the elevator as the building closes down for the weekend.
Julien's car is stolen by a young couple, small-time crook Louis and flower-seller Veronique (Poujouly and Bertin). Florence, who is waiting for Julien at a cafe, sees the car go by and Veronique leaning out of the window. She assumes that Julien has run off with Veronique, and wanders the Paris streets despondently all night.
Louis and Veronique spend the night in a motel, checking in under the name "Mr. and Mrs. Julien Tavernier," and make the acquaintance of a German tourist couple. The German woman takes pictures of Louis and her husband with Julien's miniature camera. After the Germans go to bed, Louis attempts to steal their luxury car. The husband catches Louis and threatens him with a "gun" (really a cigar). Louis shoots and kills the couple with Julien's handgun.
Louis and Veronique return to Paris and hide out in Veronique's flat. Convinced that their crime will be discovered and they will go to jail, Veronique persuades Louis to join her in a suicide pact. They take an overdose of pills and pass out.
The Germans' bodies are discovered, along with Julien's car, handgun, and raincoat; Julien therefore becomes the prime suspect in their deaths, and his picture is printed in the morning newspapers. The police, seeking Julien, arrive at the office building. Julien is finally able to escape from the elevator without being seen, but, on the street, is quickly recognized and arrested.
Meanwhile, the police discover Carala's body in his office, but do not suspect foul play - they believe that it was a suicide. Julien is charged with killing the Germans, and the police refuse to believe his alibi of being stuck in an elevator. Florence believes Julien's story, and goes to seek out Veronique. Her suicide attempt failed; she and Louis are both alive, but drowsy. Florence confronts the young couple and accuses them of killing the Germans. Louis still believes that there is no evidence connecting him with the crime, then remembers Julien's camera which contains photographs of him and the German man. He left the camera at the motel, and drives back there in the hopes of recovering the camera before anyone can develop the pictures. Florence pursues him, determined not to let him get away.
At the motel, the photographs have been developed. Because of the picture of Louis and the German man, Louis will indeed be charged with murdering the German tourists. However, the camera also contained photographs of Julien and Florence, embracing and smiling. The police realize that Julien and Florence were lovers, and that they plotted to kill Florence's husband. Both of them will go on trial for Mr. Carala's death.
Personnel and critical response
Malle cast Moreau in this, his first film, after seeing her in the Paris stage production of Tennessee WilliamsTennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
. "Moreau had 20 forgettable films behind her. ... Malle put Moreau under an honest light and wisely let his camera linger. The film was nothing special, but it did accomplish one thing: it proposed a new ideal of cinematic realism, a new way to look at a woman. All the drama in the story was in Moreau's face—the face that had been hidden behind cosmetics and flattering lights in all her earlier films. When Malle [would make] The Lovers the following year, it was obvious who his woman would be. For one thing, he had discovered her, and for another, they were in love."
External links
- "Louis Malle on the Ground Floor" essay by Terrence RaffertyTerrence RaffertyTerrence Rafferty is a film critic, notably serving a regular post at The New Yorker during the 1990s. His writing has also appeared in Slate, The Atlantic Monthly, The Village Voice, The Nation, and The New York Times...
at The Criterion CollectionThe Criterion CollectionThe Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...