Crime et châtiment
1956 Crime Drama   
 
Credits
  • Director: Georges Lampin
  • Script: Charles Spaak, based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  • Photo: Claude Renoir
  • Music: Maurice Thiriet
  • Cast: Jean Gabin (Commissaire Gallet), Marina Vlady (Lili Marcellin), Ulla Jacobsson (Nicole Brunel), Bernard Blier (Antoine Monestier), Robert Hossein (René Brunel), Gaby Morlay (Mme. Brunel), René Havard (Inspecteur Noblet), Yvette Etiévant (Madame Marcellini), Gabrielle Fontan (Mme Horvais), Roland Lesaffre (Ouvrier accusé), Albert Rémy (Inspecteur Renaud), Lino Ventura (Gustave Messonnier), Gérard Blain (Jean Fargeot), Julien Carette (Pierre Marcellin)
  • Country: France
  • Language: French
  • Runtime: 107 min; B&W
  • Aka: Crime and Punishment; The Most Dangerous Sin
 
 
 
Summary
Proud of his position in society and of his intelligence, René Brunel believes that bourgeois notions of morality do no apply to him.  To prove his point he murders an old woman in cold blood.  Pursued by Commissaire Gallet, taunted by a prostitute whom he befriends, René soon realises he was wrong.  His conscience will not allow him to forget the crime that he has committed…

Review
This respectable adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” takes the imaginative step of setting the story in present day France, making it relevant to a contemporary audience.  Strong performances are given by its stars, Robert Hossein (who plays the Raskolnikov character) and Jean Gabin.  Although not a bad effort, the film lacks the impact of Pierre Chenal’s 1935 adaptation of the same title.

© James Travers 2004


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