Mauvaise Graine (Sub B&W)

Starring:Danielle Darrieux, Pierre Mingand, Raymond Galle, Paul Escoffier, Michel Duran, Jean Wall, Marcel Maupi, Paul Velsa, Georges Malkine, Georges Cahuzac, Gaby HÃ©ritier
Director: Billy Wilder, Alexander Esway
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

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While fleeing to Hollywood from the Nazi threat in Germany, Billy Wilder laid over in Paris long enough to make his directing debut. Which means Mauvaise Graine just happens to be the beginning of one of the great directing careers in movies. This lark, codirected by Alexander Esway, follows a wealthy young man who falls in with a gang of thieves. It has the wonderful feel of open-air French filmmaking of the 1930s, and Wilder's direction has the anything-goes spirit of an ambitious kid throwing away his training wheels. A bonus is the leading lady, the charming Danielle Darrieux (still starring in movies in 2002's Eight Women), then a teenager. It may be a rough sketch for the Wilder movies to come, but the sense of adventure and the bittersweet tone are unmistakable. --Robert Horton

Description

This sly, bouncy comedy set in the sunlit avenues of 1930s Paris is the remarkable directorial debut of Billy Wilder, the sharp-witted creator of such American classics as "Sunset Blvd.," "The Apartment" and "Irma la Douce." Spoiled doctor's son Henry (Pierre Mingand) discovers high-octane thrills and jazz-era romance when he falls in with an organized ring of car thieves. After befriending Jean, a dapper young chap with a curious fetish for men's neckties, Henry falls for Jean's sister, Jeannette ("8 Women's" Danielle Darrieux), who works as car-bait by luring love-hungry Parisian gentlemen away from their chrome-plated carriages. Weaving suspense with risque comedy in the style of Wilder's classic "Some Like It Hot," this effervescent cinematic highball was shot in France by Wilder (during his migration from Germany to the U.S.) and co-director Alexander Esway, garnished with a lively jazz score by Franz Waxman.

Customer Reviews:

Foreshadows the greatness to come........2007-05-29

To start off I just want to say that this is by no means an instant classic like Double Indemnity or Sunset Boulevard. I would only recommend this to a true-Wilder or classic-French cinema fan. But now that I've written my disclaimers I'll tell you what I did like about this film. I went into this film somewhat hesitant even though Billy Wilder is easily my favorite director. It did not take long, though, to realize that this master-auteur had already begun to develop his signature style. From the subtle-comedic undertones, to the almost pre-noir finale, there is definitely a Wilder vibe to this film.

The previous reviewer stated the car-chase aspects of the film, I do find these interesting but I prefer the character development. The film focuses on spoiled-playboy Henri Pasquier(Pierre Mingand) whom after a quarrel with his father is forced to fend for himself. Starting with Jean's estrangement from his father, the film shows his gradual moral and financial deterioration on his journey to self-awareness. After some incidents that involve his car he meets kleptomaniac-Jean, whom along with his sister Jeannette(an absolutely gorgeous Danielle Darrieux) works at a Parisian chop shop. The plot from here is a little melodramatic and cliche, but nonetheless interesting. I would definitely recommend this curio to anyone that loves or respects the work of Billy Wilder as much as I do.

Great French car flick..........2003-01-03

The great German-born director, Billy Vilder, on his vay from Deutschland to Hollywood, stopped off in Paris to make this early car chase classic. A young French dandy, suddenly down on his luck, falls in with a slick gang of car thieves who run a phony auto shop, and who take him in and teach him the ropes in their cynical racket. He also falls in love, and attempts to break away from his criminal pals in order to live a clean life with his gal. Pretty cool presentation of French life in the interwar era, and of the growing fascination with the newly blooming car culture. Great crosscountry chase sequence at the end; fun stuff throughout. Recommended!

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