Casque d'Or (1952)

Robert et Raymond Hakim/Spéva Films/Paris Film Productions
Director: Jacques Becker
Starring: Simone Signoret, Robert Reggiani, Claude Dauphin

Proclaimed to be French director Jacques Becker’s favorite film of his career, this picture captures an early example of the New Wave movement as a period drama about a tragic love story set within the criminal world. Its initial domestic failure both critically and commercially gave way to international appreciation, rise in cult status, and its eventual admiration within French cinema. A melodrama that does more to set mood and setting, delivering the most impact with minimal needs on screen. It is a crime world drama that would find itself more comfortable in the American features of the 1970s and 80s, but remains fresh and timeless with a story thick in emotion and heartbreak.

 

Casque d’Or is a French tragedy about rival men attracted to a beautiful woman set to the background of the criminal world in Belle Époque Paris, France. The story follows Marie (Simone Signoret), a highly desired golden-haired beautify resigned to a life as a female companion to criminals. Her newfound affection towards reformed felon Georges Manda (Serge Reggiana) sets into motion a rivalry with crime leader Felix Leca (Claude Dauphin) who looks to use his influence or even deadly force to have Marie for himself. Leca is able to win the trophy of Marie by secretly coaxing Manda into killing rival gangster to protect his beloved Marie, leading to his arrest and forthcoming conviction. Vengeance arises when Manda discovers what Leca had done to destroy his optimistic new life away from crime with Marie, hunting down and killing Leca in front of authorities. The film closes with a heartbroken Marie in what looks to be her continuing to serve seedy criminals, only to reveal her finding a way to watch the final moments of the man she loves as Manda is led to his execution.

 

What begins as an interesting period piece of a romantic age in late 19^th century France turns into a tale about a small criminal underworld surrounding a tragic love story. With aspects from the rising New Wave movement, the movie features a number of quaint settings that provide mood along and use of lengthier camera tracking shots. Besides the period costuming the film feels as if it needed less in terms of art direction or heavy production. The emotions of the acting with the simplicity of the story and surrounding are augmented by the subtle actions of the camera as it captures the mood and plot. Much of power within the story comes from the passionate looks of key players as they display a range of love, lust, yearning, hatred, and vengeance all within the eyes. Of course, the art direction, costumes, and setting are all well captured to evoke a larger world building with minimal setting.

 

Directly inspired by a real-life incident within the Parisian underworld concerning a love triangle with a prostitute, director Jacques Becker utilizes his decades of filmmaking knowledge to the bring this tragic love story to the screen. The film was shot in and around small settings near Paris where minimal needs were required, usually with scenes in simple rooms or small outdoor areas. The costumes, hair styles, and period mustaches get across the setting of the story, but at the heart it is a tale that could take place in almost any period if slightly altered. Being set within the period of the inspired event, the Belle Époque period has its own romance as an age of positivity for France before the wars that reshaped the nation in the early decades of the 20^th century.

 

Serge Reggiana provides a strong gentleness as Manda, the ex-felon looking to find a new path on the straight and narrow when his love for Marie pulls him back into the world of criminals and his tragic end. His rival is found in Claude Dauphin’s Leca, a crime boss that wants Marie as his trophy and is willing to destroy others to get her. Pawns in Leca’s plot include gang member Roland, portrayed by William Sabatier, a subservient of Leca and third member vying for Marie’s affection. Raymond Bussières comes away as the only sympatric member of the gang and an old friend of Manda, a relationship which Leca uses to corner his rival.

 

The titular character of the feature is the one with the “golden helmet,” Marie, portrayed by Simone Signoret. A natural beauty with her golden locks usually done up, all drawing the attention of her acting to her expressive eyes. Like many of the best acting performances, being able to emote silently is key to success and Signoret does so with her communicative looks. Her character being the center of affection for the many scoundrels of the picture, she too is no innocent. Like Manda, she is looking to find a way out, and we the audience are rooting for the two of them. Her portrayal of Marie would gain international acclaim, winning her a BAFTA for her performance and earning her future opportunities in Hollywood.

 

More of a film about people, emotion, and relationships, this feature is less a period or crime picture than it was a study of people and style. The historical gangster picture is secondary to the tragic love story that is its heart. Looking back, it is surprising to think this well made of a picture was failure when it initially released in France in April of 1952. Only the cult followers of French film appeared to praise the movie as most main stream critics panned over its genius. It was not until international audiences and critics got ahold of the picture that it gained wide appreciation, earning renowned foreign film nominations before it was noted domestically. French critics were forced to take a second look at Becker’s film and came to realize just how good it actually was, in time being considered one of the finest pictures of French cinema.

 

Casque d’Or has since become a classic, an example of the rise of French New Wave that would cast a larger presence as the decade unfolded. Jacques Becker was a pioneer in French filmmaking, opening up ideas of what movie could be like in post-war France and beyond. The film would become one of most admired features of Becker’s career and considered the favorite by the filmmaker himself. As an example of the rising New Wave, Casque d’Or is a wonderful example of doing more with less, yet with skilled execution, a great story, and wonderful acting making it a classic of its age.