This is a first class version of Pierre Very's 'detective novel for children'.
Christian-Jaque is the director and the atmosphere is provided by cinematographer Marcel Julien with a wonderfully 'spooky' score by Henri Verdun. Here we have a truly amazing bunch of unique, eccentric actors the likes of whom we will never see again. What can one say about Erich von Stroheim, Michel Simon and Robert le Vigan? The latter skipped parole and fled to Argentina while serving a sentence for his fascist sympathies. Von Stroheim created a persona for himself as an Austrian aristocrat although he was in fact the son of a lower-middle class Jewish hatter. Simon much preferred living with animals than humans and kept pet monkeys. They are all splendid in this of course and Simon does a wonderful 'drunk'. Good support by Armand Bernard as a rather neurotic concierge and Aimee Clariond of the Comedie Francaise who never seemed to be out of work, as the headmaster. The boys are excellent, notably Marcel Mouloudji who later found renown as a chanteur and was highly effective in Cayatte's 'Nous sommes tous les assassins' and Jean Claudio who played Dmitri in L'Herbier's 'Rasputin'. Apparently Serge Reggiani and Charles Aznavour, uncredited, play schoolboys. I certainly didn't spot them but I suppose if I made the effort I just might.
Great entertainment and one of Christian-Jaque's best.
Herbert Lom once said that making a film involves a collection of egomaniacs trying to give the impression of working as part of a team. This film brought his observation to mind!
Review of Les disparus de St. Agil
