Quai des brumes, Le (1938)

Réalisateur:

Marcel Carné

Writers:

Pierre Dumarchais (novel)
Jacques Prévert (scenario and dialogue)

Release Date:

29 octobre 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drame | Romance

Accroche:

Tender...frankly adult. Filled with almost every emotion known to man

Plot:

A military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a smoky French port city.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Bar | Gunfire | Gangster | Hitchhiker

Awards:

3 wins

Avis des utilisateurs:

A barrel of laughs (not)

Ensemble

Jean Gabin	...	Jean
Michel Simon	...	Zabel
Michèle Morgan	...	Nelly
Pierre Brasseur	...	Lucien
Édouard Delmont	...	Panama (as Delmont)
Raymond Aimos	...	Quart Vittel (as Aimos)
Robert Le Vigan	...	Le peintre (as Le Vigan)
René Génin	...	Le docteur (as Genin)
Marcel Pérès	...	Le chauffeur (as Perez)
Jenny Burnay	...	L'amie de Lucien
Roger Legris	...	Le garçon d'hôtel (as Legris)
Martial Rèbe	...	Le client
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
Léo Malet	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Marcel Melrac	...	(uncredited)
Raymond Pélissier	...	(uncredited)
Raphaël	...	Un complice (uncredited)
Claude Walter	...	L'orphelin (uncredited)

Réalisé par
Marcel Carné

Scénaristes
Pierre Dumarchais		(novel) (as Pierre Mac Orlan)
Jacques Prévert		(scenario and dialogue)

Produit par
Gregor Rabinovitch	....	producer (uncredited)

Musique originale
Maurice Jaubert

Image
Eugen Schüfftan		(as E. Schufftan)

Montage
René Le Hénaff		(as R. Le Hénaff)

Création des décors
Alexandre Trauner		(as Trauner)

Création des costumes
Coco Chanel		(uncredited)

Directeur de production
Ludmilla Goulian	....	unit manager (as Mme Goulian)
Simon Schiffrin	....	production manager

Assistant réalisateur
Claude Walter	....	assistant director (as Walter)

Art Department
Clément Hurel	....	poster artist

Technicien du son
Antoine Archimbaud	....	sound engineer (as Archimbaud)

Camera and Electrical Department
Henri Alekan	....	camera operator (as Alekan)
Marc Fossard	....	camera operator (as Fossard)
Roger Kahan	....	still photographer (as R. Kahan)
Louis Page	....	camera operator (as Page)

Editorial Department
A. Chourat	....	assistant editor

Divers
Marcel Carné	....	decoupage technique
Marcel Carné	....	story editor

Production Companies

• Ciné-Alliance

Distributors

• Les Films Osso (1938) (France) (theatrical)
• Film Alliance of the United States Inc. (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Janus Films (1995) (worldwide) (video) (????)
• Studio Canal (2001) (France) (theatrical) (special edition)
• Connoisseur Video (1993) (UK) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reelclassicdvd.com (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Pathé Cinéma  sound laboratory
• Traonouez (Paris)  costumes (uncredited)

Autre(s) titre(s) :

Port of Shadows (USA)

Durée:

91 min | Canada:90 min

Pays:

France

Langue:

Français

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Son:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Classification:

USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 (bw)

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France

Company:

Ciné-Alliance

Guillemet:

Le peintre: I painted flowers, women and children. It's like I painted the crime right into them. I'd see crime in a rose.

Connexions De Film:

Featured in Foutaises (1989)

A barrel of laughs (not)

When I was a kid this is what I used to call a "bulger", the first time I saw it when young I was so impressed by the bulging murky atmosphere, and the over-riding sense of doom pervading the film I thought it couldn't be bettered. Then I read up on Warner Bros. techniques for their best "atmospheric" potboilers such as The Big Sleep and realised it was, as usual, all down to saving money. QDB is nearly completely studio-bound, therefore the fogs, darkness and even excessive cigarette smoke all came in useful in disguising the limitations created. In this case however the limitations are deliberate as it is the crux of the story, the elemental mist at Le Havre and Man's mental mists playing havoc with lives.

Not surprisingly, plenty of erudite praise has been showered down on QDB over the years. Essentially it remains only a entertainingly depressing adult yarn, with a straight-faced storyline coupled with some gloomy and gleaming but pleasing black and white photography. I think Renoir called it fascist in a patriotic outburst; for Carne to get past the disapproving censor Gabin couldn't even be called a deserter in the film (although his one night stand with Nelly was cheerfully depicted). Needless to say, this has probably led to some confusion over the years as to why Gabin is on the run (more like stroll) anyway! Anyway, Fascism and fascism are both dark and depressing for the majority of us so that would make QDB a faithful representation!

This was the 2nd of Carne's classic 6 consecutive films, culminating in 1945 with "Enfant du Paradis". To my mind the quality of this series remains unsurpassed in world cinema - unless you can think of another director who made 6 timeless classics one after another? All subjective, of course!

Nevertheless, one of my favourite films, not to be watched too often but always an effective antidote to the real world.