Les Impures (1955)
Directed by Pierre Chevalier

Film Review

For his first feature, director Pierre Chevalier brought a touch of classic poetic realism to what is essentially a formulaic film noir thriller, a combination that works surprisingly well - as perhaps it should given that film noir (arguably) had its origins in France's poetic realist offerings of the 1930s.  The plot offers few surprises and borrows a little too glibly from American B-movie thrillers of the previous decade but the presence of two charismatic leads - Micheline Presle and Raymond Pellegrin, both at the height of their powers - ensures the film is never going to be dull or uninvolving.  Les Impures is by no means a classic of its genre, but it offers a satisfying variation on a very familiar theme.  At least it has far more going for it than Chevalier's next thriller offering, the routine Lemmy Caution adventure Vous pigez (1956).

Although Micheline Presle had been one of the biggest stars of French cinema in the 1940s, her career was beginning to decline around this time, partly as a result of her decision to move to Hollywood, where she appeared in films that included Jean Negulesco's Under My Skin and Fritz Lang's American Guerrilla in the Philippines.  On her return to France, she remained very much in demand, but increasingly as a supporting artiste rather than the lead.  Presle may not have been the box office magnet she once was but her performance in Les Impures is among her most compelling, an astute and compassionate portrayal of a woman cruelly deceived by love.  Raymond Pellegrin's performance is equally laudable and brings at least an illusion of depth to an archetypal and insufficiently developed character.

Taking his cue from American film noir, cinematographer Henri Alekan uses both interior and exterior lighting to create a sustained mood of tension, which builds to an incredibly tense climax.  For the scenes set in Tangier, the heroine's helpless sense of confinement is palpably rendered by the spider's web of shadows that surrounds her and seemingly holds her prisoner.  French films noirs (polars) of this era tend to be less action-oriented than their American counterparts, so the physically dramatic final scenes of Les Impures come as something of a surprise, offering not only some well-choreographed fight scenes but a hell-for-leather police car chase across Paris.  Georges Van Parys' score adds both to the drama and poetry of the piece, although the schmaltzy love theme he composed for the film is over-used and ends up being lodged in the spectator's head for days afterwards.  All in all, Les Impures is a satisfying mix of romance and thriller which falls down only because of its careless over-reliance on dog-eared clichés.

Film Synopsis

On his release from prison, petty criminal Mario is eager to make a fresh start, but things get off to a bad start when he learns that his wife Géneviève has not waited for him.  Out of spite, Mario accepts an offer of work from Mr Charlie, the boss of a white slave gang.  In return for a large wad of cash Mario must begin by seducing Michèle, a singer and hostess at a night club in Montmartre.  This done, he must then dupe her into signing a contract for a job in Tangier.  Whilst Michèle is blissfully unaware that Mario is an employee of Mr Charlie, Mario is equally ignorant that Michèle is a victim of emotional blackmail and is working at the night club to support her younger sister Daniele.  When Mario falls in love with his victim he knows that he cannot go through with the scheme.  But the gangsters intervene and Michèle is soon on her way to Tangier.   With Daniele's help, Mario sets out to find her...