Le Signal rouge (1949)
Directed by Ernst Neubach

Film Review

Le Signal rouge was one of the last films that cinema legend Erich von Stroheim starred in and once again the actor turns in a grimly realistic portrayal of a man afflicted with a dangerous dual character.  Early in his acting career, von Stroheim earned himself the epithet "the man you love to hate", but by this stage his screen persona had evolved so much that, whilst he was still often cast in monstrous roles, he was more likely to arouse pity than hatred.  In an earlier film, Menaces (1940), the shocking duality of von Stroheim's character was underscored with a black mask that covered half of his face.  In Le Signal rouge, the actor has no need of such a crude piece of theatrical artifice to convince us of his character's split personality.  An outstanding performance and some effective lighting have the same result, with a far more chilling effect.

Here von Stroheim stars alongside his partner Denise Vernac, who had previously played his odious on-screen wife in Marcel Cravenne's La Danse de mort (1946).  As in this earlier film, it is the destructive relationship between von Stroheim and Vernac's characters that provides the driving force for an overwrought noir-style melodrama.  Even though the script lacks subtlety and at times appears hopelessly contrived, both actors are never less than convincing and in one memorable scene (the one in which he comes close to raping his co-star) von Stroheim has never appeared more terrifying.  Franck Villard and Yves Deniaud also give strong performances, despite the caricatured nature of their roles.

The film was directed by Austrian screenwriter-director Ernst Neubach, the first of a handful of films he made during a short stay in France in the late 1940s, early 1950s.  Neubach scripted several notable films, including Robert Siodmak's Pièges (1939) and Pierre Chenal's La Foire aux chimères (1946), but he struggled to make a name for himself as a director.  Mainly on the strength of von Stroheim's performance, Le Signal rouge has moments of exquisite poignancy and gripping drama but it lacks the inspired touch and occasionally appears cumbersome.  There is however one scene that stands out, the one in which the light switches from one side of von Stroheim's face to the other in beat with a metronome.  This is a pivotal moment in the film, where the evil and good in von Stroheim's character are visibly struggling to gain the upper hand.  Here we have the most visually striking summation of the duality that afflicts all mankind, and you can literally see von Stroheim turning into a monster before your eyes.  It's enough to give you nightmares.

Film Synopsis

Dr Berthold is a respectable doctor and family man who is profoundly affected when his wife is killed in a train accident.  As a specialist medical practitioner, Irène Dreiser, attends to his badly injured son, Berthold begins suffering blackouts, during which he unconsciously carries out attacks on trains under the cover of darkness.  Once his crimes have been discovered, he agrees to be admitted to a psychiatric clinic.  In his absence, Irène begins an affair with a handsome young man, Nicolas.  On his return home, apparently cured, Berthold becomes wildly jealous at the prospect of Irène leaving him.  When Irène refuses to marry him, Nicolas blames Berthold and plans a cruel revenge...