La Chienne (1931)

So you think you know the score? This movie will prove that you don't...A major theme in Shakespeare's plays is that looks can deceive (i.e., "Fair is foul."). That truism is the pounding heartbeat of this shocking drama.Michel Simon is superlative as dumpy Legrand, a henpecked husband and odd-man-odd cashier at his company. Like an unpopular kid in high school, he's mercilessly teased by his peers for being a "wet blanket." Little do his colleagues know that he's set himself up with a mistress and is a painter of great talent. At home he is mercilessly browbeaten by his excoriating wife, who could have been the inspiration for Susie of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." She compares Legrand to her deceased first husband, a sergeant who lost his life in 1914 "for sluggards like you." A scene of the two of them in bed is priceless: "Are you going to be reading much later?" Legrand meekly asks, only to be told she's got 50 pages to go.For much of this picture we are led to believe that Legrand is being exploited by the pathetic prostitute Lulu (Janie Marese) and a pimp whom she inexplicably loves, Dede (played exquisitely by Georges Flamant). But who's playing whom?The scam artists inadvertently bring great success to Legrand as a painter, only they arrange for Lulu to pose as the artiste, Clara Wood. This unlikely setup brings some of the only bits of humor to this dark tale. This film's main interest lies in our fascination with Legrand. We wonder what he'll do next, and he is forever full of surprises. How interesting that even after his pictures start bringing in money, he chooses to live as a bum -- free at last from his termagent of a spouse! There are poignant moments here, particularly as they involve the pimp Jaugin, a character for whom we start out feeling zero sympathy. However, when the tables turn, director Jean Renoir makes us care. Truly stunning work!

Littered with creative camera-work and memorable characters, "La Chienne" is one of Jean Renoir's most excellent and emotional films, taking a glimpse at a chaotic love triangle. Haunting, sad, and occasionally humorous, this film exposes mankind's darkest depths in a way that is engaging, entertaining, thought provoking, and disturbing all at once. With his massively artistic lens, Renoir's gliding camera captures one of cinema's finest (semi) tragic figures, that being Maurice Legrand. Played brilliantly by the always likable and hilarious Michel Simon, Legrand manages to be extremely charming-a lovable and polite guide through Renoir's storm of sadness. Unfortunately, this kind character is the one who suffers the most pain, as he is cheated and manipulated throughout the film, only realizing it when it is unfortunately too late.Within the epilogue, we are left with a character whose life is now peacefully breezing between comedy and tragedy. This memorable and painful character is now just another bum wandering through city streets, who is both happy and sad inside. He has overcome various tragedies, but has lived to be no more than a passing figure, one who must pay the price of mankind's greedy manipulation.

This 1931 Jean Renoir French movie has a story of all times. It's about a man who falls for the wrong girl and gets deeper and deeper into problems because of it. What can be more lethal than a woman? The drama is complex and multiple layered and mostly works out so well in this movie since the story by no means is a standard formulaic one. The movie does a very good job at remaining an unpredictable one throughout its entire running time and you just never know how the movie is going to end or in which direction its heading to.Jean Renoir was one the greatest early French movie directors from the 20th century. With this movie he makes his first 'talkie'. It's notable in parts that this was still all fairly new and all for him and there are some small clumsiness's. He fairly much keeps the same style as movie-making he used for his earlier silent productions. This is mostly notable with the compositions within this movie. Not that this is a bad thing in my opinion. It gives the movie a great look and style that also seems really fitting for this particular movie and its story.It's a great looking movie with high production values. The camera-work is just great and the movie in parts also uses some great editing, that shows a scene from different camera angles. It doesn't do this throughout the entire movie though, since like I said before, the movie mostly keeps is made silent-movie style. Perhaps it was an early sign of things that yet had to come for Jean Renoir, when he in 1937 with "La Grande illusion", that used lots of deep focus and camera-movements, something that also heavily inspired Orson Welles, among others, which is also really notable in "Citizen Kane" of course.Michel Simon gives away one fine performance as the movie its main character but the rest of the actors in acting within this movie is perhaps a bit uneven. But perhaps this also had to do with the fact that this was Jean Renoir's first sound movie and he had to become yet accustomed to working with dialogs and actors performing them.Unfortunately the movie uses some of its speed toward the ending but the movie at all times remains interesting and compelling enough to make you keep watching and just loving this movie right till the very end.A great first sound movie from Jean Renoir.9/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Even though the movie Scarlet Street is a remake of La Chienne, they bear many differences in the plot and tone of the movie. While Scarlet Street is very Film Noir in style, the original film (La Chienne) is an odd movie that is very hard to classify because it seems made up of several different genres AND because it deliberately avoids going the directions you think it will. While not a terrific movie (the plot lags here and there and the acting, with the exception of the fantastic Simon, is uneven). I give the movie a lot of credit for trying to be different and for a 1931 French film, the production values are good.Although I will not explain exactly how they differ, know that this French film does not follow the Hayes code so it will seem a bit seamier than the American version and the ending is anything but Hollywood inspired. In fact, the French version is MUCH better, because the later Hollywood film "cops out" and tacks on a much more predictable and sanitized ending. Now that I think about it, chienne" means "bitch"--this SHOULD clue you in that the French film is indeed seedier.