Les Grandes familles (1958)
Directed by Denys de La Patellière

Film Review

Many years before the ruthless back-biting antics of the Ewings of Dallas shook the western world, there was a popular French film which tackled similar territory, with almost equal success.  That film was Les Grandes familles, a pretty run-of the-mill drama concerned with a deadly feud between two cousins of a notoriously successful family dynasty.  Although the plot is a little flat by today's standards, the film remains an impressive example of late 1950s cinema, almost entirely because of the quality of acting performances.   The film also benefits from a good script from Michel Audiard, probably the most esteemed script writer in France at the time.

The most striking thing about this film is the quality of the acting.  Pierre Brasseur, although too often cast as the mad bad villain, is perfectly cast here.  His character is deliciously bad, blessed with a disarming charm that conceals a thoroughly warped view of the world.  Opposite him is Jean Gabin in the role of the obsessive Noël Schoudler, a surprisingly tough role for an actor better known for his flamboyant charm and comic side.  The part places great demands on the actor which Gabin more than fulfils.  Here we see Gabin the tyrant, with no place for sentiment, a hard-hearted self-obsessed capitalist.   Of course, all is not what it first seems and, through a series of circumstances, the true colours of Schoudler are finally revealed and Gabin immediately wins back our sympathy.  Two other well-known faces are caught up in the Gabin-Brasseur feud, namely Jean Desailly and Bernard Blier, who again appear to be perfectly cast and give some moving performances.

As the final dual is played out on the French stock exchange (well filmed with stock footage of the real exchange), the film makes an uncompromisingly damning statement on the power of money to corrupt and destroy.  This is the film's climax, a gripping indictment of the sick capitalist society which nurtures and then wrecks les grandes familles.

Film Synopsis

With interests ranging from banking to commodities and publishing, the Schoudlers are one of France's wealthiest and most powerful business families.  The present head of this formidable dynasty is Noël Schoudler, a driven, plain-speaking magnate who runs his affairs with an unwavering ruthlessness, and this applies as much to his private life as it does to matters of business.  Short of breaking the law, Schoudler is ready to resort to any means to protect his family's wealth and good name, and anyone who dares to oppose him can expect nothing but the roughest of treatment.  Noël Schoudler is a patriarch and a tyrant, a capitalist in every atom of his being. and he seems not to have an ounce of compassion in his soul.  The pursuit of wealth and power is all that matters to him.

At the present time, Schoudler has two overriding preoccupations.  The first is to give his son François the opportunity to prove himself; the second is to bring about the complete ruin of his cousin Lucien Maublanc, a lazy good-for-nothing whom Schoudler considers a disgrace to the family.  François proves to be an enthusiastic man of commerce, but his methods soon bring him into conflict with his father, who is quick to detect signs of weakness.  To teach his son a valuable lesson, Schoudler refuses to bail him out when he gets into difficulty.  In desperation, François turns to Maublanc, but the family rivalry has made the latter reluctant to help him.  In the end, François's situation becomes so desperate that he is driven to suicide.  The shock of his son's death goads Schoudler into action.  For the sake of François's three-year-old son he embarks on a decisive course that will allow him to preserve his fortune and his family's honour...