Le Désordre et la nuit (1958)
Directed by Gilles Grangier

Film Review

Le Désordre et la nuit is a fairly respectable example of the French film noir of the late 1950s, although it falls somewhat short of the excellence of earlier crime thrillers such as Touchez pas au grisbi (1954) and Du rififi chez les hommes (1955). Across the 1950s, French film noir showed a marked migration away from the more stylised approach inspired by American film noir of earlier decades towards a more sophisticated, lighter, variation on the same theme.  The night clubs, trenchcoat wearing cops and gun-totting villains, femme fatales, prostitutes are still there, but there is a greater emphasis on realism, in both character and situation, as the genre evolved into the classic French policier that we know and love. The film was directed by Gilles Grangier, who mostly concerned himself with mainstream comedies such as La Cuisine au beurre (1963), although he was also adept in the thriller genre. Among the thrillers that Grangier directed are Gas-Oil (1955) and Le Rouge est mis (1957), which both starred Jean Gabin, the lead actor of Le Désordre et la nuit.

The shock pairing of an ageing Jean Gabin and a near-adolescent Nadja Tiller (paving the way for the former's subsequent liaison with Brigitte Bardot in En cas de malheur (1958)) is one of the things which makes this a memorable and enjoyable film.  Gabin's loneliness and disillusionment with his life is apparent, as is Tiller's vulnerability and need to be loved. Despite their age difference, the two actors have a genuine rapport which provides the film with a feeling of humanity which is often lacking in French thrillers of this period.  Although she plays a lesser role in the film, Danielle Darrieux is equally captivating when she finally appears.

Another defining characteristic of this film, and the thing which most gives it a sense of modernity and energy, is the almost omnipresence of jazz music - no doubt inspired by Louis Malle's Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958). Le Désordre et la nuit makes good use of its jazz star Hazel Scott, whose presence with her jazz troupe at various interludes in the film bring it to life with a vengeance.

Film Synopsis

Inspecteur Georges Vallois is called in to investigate the murder of Albert Simoni, the owner of a night club in Paris.  The prime suspect is Lucky Fridel, a young German woman who came to Paris to start a career as a singer. Vallois is seduced by Lucky and ends up falling in love with her, although he discovers that she is a drug addict.  Intending to protect Lucky from the police, Vallois pursues his own private investigation, realising that whoever is supplying Lucky with dope is very probably the person who murdered Simoni...