Joy House (1964)

Marc a French playboy has committed the ultimate sin, he beds the wife of a criminal lord in New York. With his injured pride as a cuckold, the man orders to bring him his head on a silver platter so he can enjoy his revenge and to satisfy his ego. Trouble is Marc has decamped New York and now is playing on the French Riviera. The men sent to get him locate him, but Marc is able to escape, finding refuge among the poor being fed at a local church, where he is not going to be found.Marc fates changes when Barbara, one wealthy American woman comes to the mission where he has been staying accompanied by her cousin Melinda, whom she uses as her personal maid. Through Melinda, Barbara offers Marc a job at her rich villa as a chauffeur. Thinking it is the best solution to his problems, Marc accepts the invitation, but little does he know about what awaits him at Barbara's palatial home which hides a well kept secret, one in which Marc will play a principal role."Les felins" is based on an American pulp fiction paperback, written by Day Keene, an obscure author whose work is hardly known these days. The great Rene Clement knew a thing, or two, about making films and saw the potential of this story for his reunion with Alain Delon after their success on "Plein soleil", a triumph of great artistic proportions. Here Mr. Clement worked with Pascal Jardin and Charles Williams in a screenplay that captured the essence of Mr. Keene's novel.Working with the great cinematographer Henri Decae, a favorite of a lot of the New Wave directors, Mr. Clement gets the proper atmosphere for the film. Lalo Schifrin contributed with a jazzy score that serves the movie well. Mr. Clement casting of the two principal female roles went to two American actresses, Jane Fonda, who was starting in French movies, as Melinda, and the wonderful Lola Albright, playing the deceiving Barbara, a woman who is hiding a deep secret. Alain Delon is Marc, the gigolo being sought by the Americans in one of his best screen appearances, in a film long forgotten.The director also brought a few American actors to play the heavies in their unusual style. We see Carl Studer, Sorrell Brooke and George Gaynes among the supporting cast, in a film that should not be missed by fans of the excellent Rene Clement.

...only "Plein Soleil" ("Purple noon" -the talented M.Ripley first version- ,a first Delon/Clement collaboration ,is superior.The director's other thrillers were marred by unbearable metaphysical pretensions ("La Maison Sous les Arbres" " la Course du Lièvre à Travers Champs" "Babysitter" ...)which the use of American actors did not help.A black and white film ,a strange choice for a story which takes place in a luxury mansion on the Cote d'Azur ,the cinematography is in direct contrast to that of "Plein Soleil" .Whereas the former work was often filmed in open air ,at sea,in "les felins " ,we almost never go out of the Fonda/Albright's place.The screenplay is absorbing ,a la Boileau-Narcejac (who wrote "Diabolique" and "Vertigo" ) and the suspense is sustained throughout the story. (I particularly dig the scenes with the car at the end).It was actually René Clément's last good movie.All that follows is virtually disposable.

I never saw the English dubbing of this film, but I saw the French original and it is superlative. The music by Lalo Shiffrin is absolutely groundbreaking and a promise of "missions impossible" to come. The photography and editing only give Godard's "Breathless" a knowing passing reference but are way ahead of anything the so-called New Wave (with its stuttering scripts, faulty story-telling, amateur production values and intellectual pretensions) could ever come up with. You'll think you're watching outtakes of "A Hard Day's Night" and the film would still be better than most of today's US suspense-actioners if it hadn't been for the invention of the steadycam. You haven't truly lived until you have experienced Jane Fonda's French-speaking virginal sex kitten act. A taut thriller, extremely modern, from a filmmaker who was always synonymous with the principle of "quality first". Like many French film classics, it is inspired by those oh-so-exotic British/US "romans noirs" (crime novels). And it is a statement on the cold fact that women are about to take over the world and that those lovely little menzipoos can only be relied on for violence and sex.

MST 3000 would have a field day with this muddled mess! Convoluted, incoherent, and embarrassing! The plot revolves around sexy international playboy Alan Delon (who's a thug), underrated Lola Albright (who's lonely), and a stunningly beautiful Jane Fonda (who's horny). Somewhere in between there's a shrunken head, gorgeous French Riviera scenery, two-way mirrors, and a man lurking around in the movie's seaside Gothic mansion.I don't know what's going on here except director Rene Clair did a fine job with Purple Noon (remade as The Talented Mr. Ripley) and you should rent that instead. However, you won't see pre-feminist Jane Fonda trying to seduce Corridor Man by doing 'the Surf' in a strapless bra and slip (dig that crazy music!) or future Dukes of Hazzard's Boss Hogg play the villian.