Quand te tues-tu? (1953) Directed by Émile Couzinet
Comedy / Drama
Film Synopsis
After losing his fortune, the Viscount Xavier du Venoux finds he can bear
his solitary existence no longer, so he makes up his mind to put an end to
his days. This turns out to be a remarkable stroke of good fortune
for a supposed friend of his, a young loafer who stands to inherit a massive
fortune on condition that he marries a widow. To respect the terms
of the will that will make him a rich man, he persuades the unhappy Viscount
to marry his girlfriend, Gaby. Xavier can then kill himself, in the
full knowledge that he has brought wealth and happiness to the most shallow
and egoistical of young men. Unfortunately, the scheme does not go
as planned. Once he has married, the Viscount suddenly regains his
zest for living and decides he cannot go through with the agreed suicide.
All turns out for the best, in the end...
Cast: Carmen Amaya (Herself),
Léonce Corne (Le notaire),
Frédéric Duvallès (Gripasou),
Jeanne Fusier-Gir (Virginie),
René Génin (Le maire),
Marcel Roche (Duradin),
Arlette Sauvage (Gaby),
Daniel Sorano (Midol),
Jean Tissier (Vicomte Xavier du Venoux),
Marcel Vallée (Petavey),
Gaby Bruyère,
Georges Coulonges,
Maurice Lambert
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Black and White
Runtime: 85 min
Kafka's tortuous trial of love
Franz Kafka's letters to his fiancée Felice Bauer not only reveal a soul in torment; they also give us a harrowing self-portrait of a man appalled by his own existence.
In the 1920s French cinema was at its most varied and stylish - witness the achievements of Abel Gance, Marcel L'Herbier, Jean Epstein and Jacques Feyder.