Pigalle-Saint-Germain-des-Prés (1950)
Directed by André Berthomieu

Film Review

Film musicals are a rare phenomenon in French cinema, with only a few such films (for example, René Clair's Le Million) bearing comparison with their American counterparts.   Of those French films which are nominally classified as musicals most are anything but, with the music often lazily inserted into the narrative as a cheap time-filler.  Pigalle-Saint-Germain-des-Prés is a good example of this and shows how badly wrong things can go if the musical format is used inappropriately.

The main problem with this film is that it has a major crisis of identity, not really knowing what it is.  Is it a musical?  Is it a gangster film?  Is it a comedy?  Is it a romance?  Or is it a portrait of young people enjoying themselves?   The film's pick-and-mix approach and absurdly pedestrian plot make it difficult to take seriously and harder to watch.  The only relief comes from the uplifting musical interludes, courtesy of Jacques Hélian (who stars in the film) and his magnificent orchestra.

For those who are not fans of Jacques Hélian and his music, the only other reason for watching the film is to see Jeanne Moreau in one of her earliest screen roles.  Even at this early stage in her career, Moreau is captivating and her performance gives the film a touch of class which is so clearly lacking elsewhere.  Although Moreau's part gives her little opportunity to show her true acting talents, you do get a sense that here is an actress with something special.  Whenever the camera locks onto her face, you cannot help noticing something singularly dark and troubling in her expression.  There is more than a hint of the femme anarchiste role which would earn Moreau her reputation in the following decade, with the complicity of the directors of the French New Wave.

Film Synopsis

With work hard to come by, musician Jacques Hélian and his orchestra end up working in an unpopular night club in the Pigalle district of Paris.  The club's owner, Monsieur Jo, is mixed up with a band of gangsters and has to resort to robbing a bank to keep his business solvent.  Seeing that Jo now has money, Hélian demands payment for his musicians.  He is duly paid but a short while later he is attacked and the money stolen.  On discovering that the money has ended up back in Jo's safe, the musicians reclaim the money and hastily quit the scene.  A short while later, the musicians and staff of the Pigalle night club are re-united, working together in a basement night club in Saint-Germain.  The club is frequented by young existentialists and proves to be a great success - at least until Jo's gangster friends put in an appearance...