Melancholy transatlantic noir
Added 9/19/2009
Lola Albright, as the worldly, sensuous, widow (how did her husband die?), Jane Fonda, as the innocent, sensuous cousin, who found themsleves in a French chateau, living both in high society and amongst the poor (they do charity work at a Church).
Alain Delon, in a kind of amalgam role of James Dean and Dirk Bogarde, is the bad boy, on the run from a crime family. He finds employment as chaffeur to the ladies.
But will he drive that Rolls-Royce right to the airport, when the time is right?
In the previous decade, perhaps Barbara Stanwyck and Natalie Wood might have taken on the characters of Barbra and Melinda, but I can think of any two actresses who could do better than Albright and Fonda in this offbeat thriller; though I found Fonda's acting just a tad mannered, at times.
The beat is beautifully underscored by a jazz-infused soundtrack by Lalo Schiffrin, who emphasizes [what I hear as] a snaking upright bass line; clean but insistent. As soft as the house cat who watches and retreats throughout.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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CLASSIC FILM
Added 1/20/2009
A RARE FILM WITH A LOVELY JANE FONDA WHO IN THIS STORY IS A PAWN WHICH SLOWLY CHANGES POSITION. A THRILLER TYPE MOVIE WITH A TWIST ENDING.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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A New Wave-Gothic-Noir Soufflé
Added 11/19/2008
I remember seeing Joy House (Les Felins) when I was about fifteen and thinking it was a long and boring affair. Well time changes things and with luck a little sophistication comes with age.
Upon revisiting the film I found it a fun French-New Wave-Gothic-Noir romp along the Riviera at the height of the jet set age. The film is a mystery and my review will leave the plot just that for you (I hate so called reviews that are just a synopsis of a film and nothing else). I will say this much, Joy House is labyrinthine and delicious an well worth a visit down it's rabbit hole.
The cinematography in cinemascope black and white is crisp, sharp and glamorous. It shows off the lovely landscapes of the South of France at the same time, the twisted psyches of the three main characters.
Jane Fonda here in her French ingénue period is luscious and interesting. She gives one glimpses of where she is going in the near future as an actress. It is fun to watch her bubble and squeak as the freaky sex kitten Melinda. Alan Delon steams up the scene and the screen as Marc a hustler who gets more than he bargained for. Delon is just so much fun to watch. One of a few French actors of the 60's who translated to American audiences and made a splash in English language films. (This film was shot in English and can be watched in dubbed French as well). Here he is playing a variation on his role in Purple Noon, but that is not a bad thing since his Ripley was so much fun. Then there is Lola Albright as Barbara, a woman with more than just a little secret upstairs in the attic. Here is an actress who has been forgotten for the most part and I myself cannot recall any of her films. But her performance in this glittering soufflé is the nutty center of the film that fascinates. She is hard, sexy, dangerous, and yet as it turns out more vulnerable than her seemingly sweet cousin Melinda.
The whole thing is directed with style and flair by Rene Clement and served up with panache and a wink.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Gripping all the way through.
Added 9/4/2008
What a fun, fast-paced movie. Alain Delon stars as Marc, a man being hunted by the husband of a woman he's had an affair with. When he takes refuge in a shelter, two "philanthropist" American beauties, the widow Barbara (Lola Albright) and her younger American cousin Melinda (Jane Fonda), rescue him and appoint him their personal chauffeur.
What follows is an erotic and creepy adventure between these people that strikes with several brilliant twists just when we imagine we've been comfortable too long. Joy House is equal parts chase film, thriller, romance and action, and successful in all. The story has us side with all of the characters at different times throughout the narrative. Everyone is good and everybody is bad in Joy House, and it's riveting to watch. The film is expertly crafted by director Rene Clement, and beautifully photographed by the film's cinematographer, Henri Dacae. What really surprised me is the score, largely jazz influenced and written by Lalo Schifrin. The music seems atypical for a genre film like this, but works wonderfully--as it does in so many of Godard's films from this era.
I had never heard of this movie when I stumbled upon it, but am quite glad I did. I recommend this highly not only for fans of genre films and Alain Delon and Jane Fonda, but anyone interested in entertainment; the appeal is universal.
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Joyless Exercise
Added 9/1/2008
This meandering noir brought to my mind a French word...ennui. The story goes nowhere the acting is pedestrian with the possible exception of a winsome young Jane Fonda. The best part of the film is the twist ending but if the rest of the film lays an egg who cares. Forgettable in the extreme.
1 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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Melancholy transatlantic noir
Added 9/19/2009
Lola Albright, as the worldly, sensuous, widow (how did her husband die?), Jane Fonda, as the innocent, sensuous cousin, who found themsleves in a French chateau, living both in high society and amongst the poor (they do charity work at a Church).
Alain Delon, in a kind of amalgam role of James Dean and Dirk Bogarde, is the bad boy, on the run from a crime family. He finds employment as chaffeur to the ladies.
But will he drive that Rolls-Royce right to the airport, when the time is right?
In the previous decade, perhaps Barbara Stanwyck and Natalie Wood might have taken on the characters of Barbra and Melinda, but I can think of any two actresses who could do better than Albright and Fonda in this offbeat thriller; though I found Fonda's acting just a tad mannered, at times.
The beat is beautifully underscored by a jazz-infused soundtrack by Lalo Schiffrin, who emphasizes [what I hear as] a snaking upright bass line; clean but insistent. As soft as the house cat who watches and retreats throughout.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
CLASSIC FILM
Added 1/20/2009
A RARE FILM WITH A LOVELY JANE FONDA WHO IN THIS STORY IS A PAWN WHICH SLOWLY CHANGES POSITION. A THRILLER TYPE MOVIE WITH A TWIST ENDING.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
A New Wave-Gothic-Noir Soufflé
Added 11/19/2008
I remember seeing Joy House (Les Felins) when I was about fifteen and thinking it was a long and boring affair. Well time changes things and with luck a little sophistication comes with age.
Upon revisiting the film I found it a fun French-New Wave-Gothic-Noir romp along the Riviera at the height of the jet set age. The film is a mystery and my review will leave the plot just that for you (I hate so called reviews that are just a synopsis of a film and nothing else). I will say this much, Joy House is labyrinthine and delicious an well worth a visit down it's rabbit hole.
The cinematography in cinemascope black and white is crisp, sharp and glamorous. It shows off the lovely landscapes of the South of France at the same time, the twisted psyches of the three main characters.
Jane Fonda here in her French ingénue period is luscious and interesting. She gives one glimpses of where she is going in the near future as an actress. It is fun to watch her bubble and squeak as the freaky sex kitten Melinda. Alan Delon steams up the scene and the screen as Marc a hustler who gets more than he bargained for. Delon is just so much fun to watch. One of a few French actors of the 60's who translated to American audiences and made a splash in English language films. (This film was shot in English and can be watched in dubbed French as well). Here he is playing a variation on his role in Purple Noon, but that is not a bad thing since his Ripley was so much fun. Then there is Lola Albright as Barbara, a woman with more than just a little secret upstairs in the attic. Here is an actress who has been forgotten for the most part and I myself cannot recall any of her films. But her performance in this glittering soufflé is the nutty center of the film that fascinates. She is hard, sexy, dangerous, and yet as it turns out more vulnerable than her seemingly sweet cousin Melinda.
The whole thing is directed with style and flair by Rene Clement and served up with panache and a wink.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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