Le Sang à la tête (1956)
Directed by Gilles Grangier

Film Review

The film director Gilles Grangier is best remembered today for his popular comedies in which he skilfully exploited the comedic talents of such stars as Bourvil, Fernandel and Jean Gabin - enduring classics such as Poisson d'avril (1954), Les Vieux de la vieille (1960) and La Cuisine au beurre (1963). However, Grangier did not confine his attention to comedies; in fact, he was among the most versatile of mainstream French filmmakers of his time, with a particular penchant for hard-boiled crime-thrillers such as Le Rouge est mis (1957) and 125 rue Montmartre (1959).  Le Sang à la tête is one of his least typical works, a sombre adaptation of Georges Simenon's novel Le Fils Cardinaud which is most distinguished by its superb use of its La Rochelle setting and an impressive central performance from Jean Gabin.

Gabin had worked with Grangier successfully on two films prior to this, La Vierge du Rhin (1953) and Gas-oil (1955), both fairly respectable examples of 1950s French film noir, and would follow it with a further nine collaborations. One of Gabin's favourite directors, Grangier would join him and Fernandel in founding their production company, Gafer, which made just nine films.  Now well into the second phase of his career, Gabin was most comfortable playing patriarchal or godfather-type roles, either untouchable gangster bosses or tough businessmen.  Le Sang à la tête provided him with a subtle variation on a familiar theme, a character who had managed to rise above his working class origins to become a successful entrepreneur, but had failed to gain the respect of the bourgeois milieu he now finds himself in.  Gabin's portrayal of a man stuck in limbo between two classes, held in equal disdain by both, has a touching vulnerability about it and the actor acquits himself with one of the most engaging and truthful performances of his career.  Gabin's character has a curious resonance with Grangier, a director who started out at the bottom and, through sheer hard work, rose to the top of his profession, without ever gaining the respect of serious film critics.  Even today, he is virtually overlooked by most students of French cinema, a victim of cultural snobbery at its worst.

Gabin is well-served not only by Grangier, whose direction is as assured as ever, but also by screenwriter Michel Audiard, whose flair for authentic and often caustically amusing dialogue brightened many a French film in the course of his 35-year long career.  The film's realism is bolstered by its extensive use of real locations in the busy French seaport of La Rochelle.  Years before the French New Wave came along, Grangier would often take his camera out into the streets and film ordinary people going about their business, bringing a raw documentary feel to some of his films.  Le Sang à la tête is one of the best examples of this: the La Rochelle setting does more than just add local colour to the film, it becomes an essential part of the narrative, underscoring the humble origins of the main character and his dissociation from both his workers and his business associates.

After Gabin, the two biggest names in the cast list are Renée Faure and Paul Frankeur, two immensely talented actors who, it may be argued, failed to live up to their potential.  Faure was most famous for her role in Christian-Jaque's La Chartreuse de Parme (1948), Frankeur for his appearances in Luis Buñuel's late films, notably La Voie lactée (1969).  The actress Florelle takes her final bow in this film, a modest end to a career that had had its heyday in the 1930s - she played Fantine in Raymond Bernard's blockbuster production of Les Misérables (1933) and starred alongside René Lefèvre in Jean Renoir's Le Crime de Monsieur Lange (1936).  The other notable name to watch out for in the credits is Jacques Deray, Grangier's assistant who would go on to become an important film director in his own right, directing some of the most successful French thrillers of the following two decades, including: La Piscine (1969), Borsalino (1970) and Flic Story (1975).  Le Sang à la tête may not have made much of an impact when it first came out in 1956, but it stands as one of Gilles Grangier's better films.  An astute study in class alienation and prejudice, scripted and directed with flair, it is long overdue for a fresh appraisal.

Film Synopsis

When he started out as a modest dockworker thirty years ago, François Cardinaud could not have imagined that he would become one of the most powerful men in the port of La Rochelle.  Now, comfortably settled with a young family, he is surprised when his wife, Marthe, suddenly disappears one Sunday morning.  Hearing a rumour that Marthe has run off with Mimile Babin, a former lover, a jealous François sets about trying to find her.  To that end, he allies himself with André Drouin, a smuggler whose illegal activities have recently been denounced by Babin...