Meurtres (1950)
Directed by Richard Pottier

Film Review

Adapted from a novel of the same title by the Belgian writer Charles Plisnier, Meurtres broaches the perennially controversial subject of assisted dying with a candour and directness that must have been shocking to audiences when it was first screened.  Seventy years on, euthanasia is still a hot topic, the practise outlawed in all but a very few countries and it seems all the more remarkable that Plisnier's book first came out in 1939.  The film also serves as a scathing critique of middleclass morality of the late 1940s, matching Claude Chabrol's anti-bourgeois agenda some decades later with its contemptuous assault on the attitudes and behaviour of a stratum of French society that is constantly obsessed with appearances and self-advancement at any cost.

Meurtres was the most significant film to be made by Richard Pottier, a talented but by no means exceptional journeyman director who mostly specialised in lavish crowd-pleasers featuring popular singers of his day such as Luis Mariano and Tino Rossi.  He made a few more serious films - Le Monde tremblera (1939) and La Ferme aux loups (1943) being among his best - but for the most part he was a mainstream hack, perhaps best remembered today for his two slick Maigret offerings - Picpus (1943) and Les Caves du Majestic (1944).  Meurtres was a rare departure for a director who stayed well clear of controversial themes and it gives a hint of what kind of a filmmaker Pottier might have been if he'd had more of an eye on his long-term reputation.

Henri Jeanson's contribution as dialogist undoubtedly serves the film well, elevating it way above the standard of Pottier's usual so-so melodramas and giving a golden opportunity for its lead actor, Fernandel, to prove his worth as a serious actor.  Fernandel had been a major star of French cinema since the early 1930s but he was never considered anything more than a comic performer - until he took on the role of Noël Annequin in Meurtres.  This was just a few months after the actor had worked with Pottier on the kind of film he was best known for, Casimir (1950).  The two roles could hardly have been more different.

Critics and audiences were stunned by the Fernandel's skill in tackling a serious dramatic role which many would have thought way beyond his ability.  The harrowing sequence in which Noël is driven by compassion to kill his beloved cancer-stricken wife is the most powerful not only in Meurtres but also in Fernandel's entire oeuvre.  This success gave an immense boost to Fernandel's career at a time when it was just beginning to flag, and from this point on the familiar horse-faced actor was able to broaden his repertoire considerably, allowing him to deliver some of his finest performances in films such as Le Fruit défendu (1952) and La Vache et le prisonnier (1959), both helmed by Henri Verneuil, one of the few directors to make full use of Fernandel's talent as a straight actor.

Meurtres also benefits from a supporting cast of distinguished performers, including Jacques Varennes, Raymond Souplex, Mireille Perrey and Lino Noro, although all of these are eclipsed by the comparatively unknown newcomer, Jeanne Moreau.  The latter had recently distinguished herself in Jean Stelli's melodrama Dernier amour (1949) but she wouldn't gain the recognition she deserved until Louis Malle gave her the lead role in Ascenseur pour l'échaufaud (1958).  After that, the charismatic Moreau would become one of the most high-profile French actresses of her generation, her international reputation assured by François Truffaut's Jules et Jim (1962).  Her presence in Meurtres gives just the merest hint of the actress's future success but it provides ample excuse for revisiting what is surely one of the most thought-provoking French films of its time.

Film Synopsis

Noël Annequin is the black sheep of the Annequins, a proud family living in the South of France.  He is content with his placid life as a modest winegrower, devoted to his wife Isabelle, but he is looked on with contempt by his better educated brothers who lead far more profitable lives in Aix-en-Provence.  Hervé, the oldest brother, is an esteemed lawyer, whilst Blaise, the younger brother, pursues a successful career as a surgeon.  Neither has anything to do with Noël, who is excluded from their sphere of bourgeois respectability.  When Isabelle is struck down with cancer, Noël is devastated and cannot bring himself to carry out his wife's desperate wish to bring an end to her suffering.  In the end he has no choice but to give in to her entreaties and administer the lethal dose of medicine.

Once he has done the deed and suspicion falls on his wife's nurse, Noël's only thought is to make a full confession of what he has done to the authorities and accept the punishment that is due to him.  The other Annequin brothers are appalled when they hear of this.  Fearing a scandal that will reflect badly on themselves, they act to silence him.  Their only hope is to convince the authorities that Noël is suffering from some kind of mental derangement.  To that end, a psychiatrist is called in to assess the winegrower's state of mind.  Noël's only ally is Martine, Blaise Annequin's daughter.  She wants no part in the deception but appears helpless to thwart it.  With the wife-killer safely locked away in a lunatic asylum the Annequins will be able to continue their respectable lives as if nothing has happened.  At least, that is what they believe...