You won't be disappointed!

Lack of good storyline.

Absolutely Fantastic

A Brilliant Conflict

Deciding to spend the next 100 days watching 100 French films,one of the main goals I gave myself was to watch as many of auteur film maker Jacques Becker's 13 credits (with the superb Antoine et Antoinette being the only one I've seen before.) Taken by Simone Signoret's role in Henri-Georges Clouzot's chilling Les Diaboliques,I was delighted to find a title where Signoret and Becker teamed up,which led to me putting on the Casque D'or (Golden Helmet.)The plot:Getting out of jail,former gangster Georges Manda vows to stay on the straight and narrow.Returning to town,Manda crosses paths with powerful gangster Félix Leca.Attending a dance hall,Manda meets Marie,and falls in love at the very first sight of her.Taken by his rugged appearance,Marie finds herself starting to secretly fall for Manda. Furious over Marie having eyes for another man,Leca's gang member Roland Dupuis challenges Manda to a fight to the death for Marie.Killing Dupuis,Manda and Marie decide to leave town and run to the countryside. Desperate to get their revenge,Leca's gang decide to plant Dupuis's murder on Manda's old friend Raymond. View on the film:Rowing into the movie,co-writer/(along with Jacques Companéez/ Annette Wademant & "Romi") director Jacques Becker & cinematographer Robert Lefebvre enter Leca's underworld with an immaculate shine,with the razor sharp suits,gold-covered walls and blazing sun keeping the evil under the sun bubbling away.Along with expert use of deep focus shading in Marie's transfixing face,Becker chips away at the sunlight to crack the Film Noir darkness,which pours out in stylish reflecting mirror shots gazing at the fractures Leca is creating,and powerfully raw, unflinching close-ups punching into the Film Noir darkness Manda has returned to.Looking ravishingly beautiful, Simone Signoret gives an incredible performance as dame Marie,where Signoret displays a subtle grip on make each facial expression (no matter how minor) express the developing love Marie has for Manda.Caught in the middle of a vicious set-up, Raymond Bussières gives a great performance as Raymond, (how long did they spend think up that name for him!)by making Ray try in desperation to hold onto a gentleman's loyalty,even as the Film Noir pit caves in. Finding himself unable to escape the old crowd, Serge Reggiani gives a superb performance as Georges Manda,via balancing a heart-wrenching love for Marie with a chewy Film Noir grit,as Manda sets his sights of Marie and Leca.Following Manda back into the darkness,the screenplay by Becker/ Companéez/ Wademant & Romi brilliantly twist Manda's Film Noir world round Marie's little finger,which slides in on a silk,romantic atmosphere,where the writers place a tense sense of longing between the couple.Clawing away at the dapper dress of Leca,the writers dip Becker's theme of loyalty into deadly Film Noir waters which tear Film Noir loner Manda's between loyalty for his friend,and loyalty for his love,the girl with the golden helmet.

Casque d'or is an interesting, if somewhat overrated, Jacques Becker film about a love triangle amongst the seedier inhabitants of fin-de- siecle France.Unfortunately, little use is made of the turn-of-the-century setting. Whilst unusual to see a crime film set in this period featuring a nascent French branch of the mafia, the period detail does little to develop the story's themes. Perhaps its only point is to show that the fin-de-siecle was not the golden age many imagine it to have been but had, of course, just as much crime and despair as any other era.Simone Signoret plays Golden Marie, the object of the men's affections. An unlikable character, it is difficult for the audience to see just why they find her so attractive. This, and the fact all of the other characters are reprehensible, driven purely by self-interest, gives the film a strange estranging affect. One knows it is extremely well-made but one admires this film coldly, from a distance and feels little empathy for the plight of any of the characters.Like Golden Marie, we watch on coldly at the end as her lover is guillotined. Like her, we feel only the slightest tinge of emotion.Signoret's acting is effective. At times passionate and impetuous, at others her character's aforementioned coldness dominates. This unpredictability makes her an unsettling element amongst her otherwise- predictable mafia colleagues. Her impulsive change of dance partners in the film's opening scene foreshadows the "dance" she will take them all on as she inadvertently undermines the relationships between the gang members.Ultimately, this is an extremely impressive film but falls just slightly short of being one of the great masterpieces of French cinema. It is still highly recommended and remains a fascinating work of art.

"Casque d'Or" is a very well made film. However, I must also point out that the characters themselves were not particularly likable or easy to believe--even though the story is supposed to be based, at least in part, on a real case.The film is set among the seedier elements in Paris in the 1890s. It begins with a woman of very easy virtue (Simone Signoret) meeting a man who is a carpenter (Serge Reggiani). Their meeting is VERY tempestuous and throughout the first part of the film they seem to have a love-hate relationship. Later, when he tries to talk with her in a bar, a fight breaks out and he kills a man. What happens next is rather sad and sordid--though I never really cared about the characters.Compared to the average American film of the time, this movie is a bit shocking. While there is no nudity, the characters are rather matter-of-fact about sex. One man gropes Signoret's breasts early in the film and later Signoret and her lover (who barely know each other) jump into bed. At the time, I am sure international audiences were a bit shocked by all this. They also might have been shocked by the fact that EVERYONE in the film is a bit slimy--and some are VERY slimy--though this isn't all that different from some Film Noir.All in all, the acting is nice, the film work is nice and the sets very nice. It's just a shame that although the story had a few nice twists I never really cared about any of them.

Jacques Becker's "Casque d'or" is a fine example of the best in the French cinema. At times, this splendid 1954 film, keeps reminding us about paintings of the impressionist school, especially Renoir, because it takes us back to that era. In fact, the beginning of the film almost gives the impression we are witnessing characters that inspired the painters of that art movement."Casque d'or" is enhanced by the magnificent black and white photography of Robert Lefevbre who has a poetic way to get the best of what M. Becker intended him to do. The atmospheric music of Georges Van Parys takes the viewer back to those places one has seen in different paintings of that era.The lovely young woman at the center of the picture, Marie, gets taken with Manda the moment he enters the country restaurant where she is seen with some of the petty criminals she is friendly with. One realizes this is a passion that is not meant to be from the start. Marie belongs to one of the Felix Leca's gang. When Roland senses his girl has an eye for another man, he wants to take get rid of him.Georges Manda has also been to jail, but now is a carpenter and trying to go straight. Fate is not kind to Manda, who, when provoked, reveals he is not to be made a fool. Leca, who is also quite smitten by Marie's beauty plans to get rid of Manda so he can have the blonde woman all to himself. Leca, who knows his way around the law, and is friendly with the police, will prove to be Manda's undoing.What Jacques Becker achieved with this film was to create the right atmosphere to set his story. Working in France he had the access to the great movie locations one sees in the movie. The film evokes that period convincingly. The director adds touches, that even when watched today, are a delight to watch.M. Becker got good performances out of his cast. Simone Signoret at that point of her life was at her prime. Her Marie is a fine example of what she was able to project without much effort. Her beauty is evident and she plays Marie with elegance. Serge Reggiani plays Manda with conviction. M. Reggiani covered quite a lot of ground in the French cinema. Aside from his good looks, he was an accomplished actor and singer. His contribution to our enjoyment of the film made "Casque d'or" to be a classic it became. Claude Dauphin is Felix Leca, the unscrupulous man in love with Marie who will stoop so low in order to get the woman that he wouldn't have otherwise. M. Dauphin conveys the evil in Felix Leca with an economy that works well in his portrayal of this sophisticated monster.Finally, this is Jacques Becker's triumph. "Casque d'or" is one of the best films of all times.