Very well executed

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

In this film Bourvil plays a judge applied to research a murder case (difficult to explain the French judicial system, one should watch the series Engranages to get an idea). There are two possible culprits: the widow and the nurse (and mistress) of the victim. Bourvil is positive that the widow is lying, and that they are sending an innocent woman to jail.Don't Tempt the Devil is about 'the perfect murder', which was also the subject of a couple of films of Hitchcock, and of course, Witness for the Prosecution by Billy Wilder, made six years earlier. Just like in Hitchcock's Rope we learn immediately who did the crime.In this film you'll see people talking, rather static. Bourvil who talks to Pierre Brasseur, who talks to Marina Vlady, while Virna Lisi talks to Umberto Orsini, who talks with Pierre Brasseur, and sometimes Bourvil talks to all of them. While the dialogues are good in itself, it would have been great if there had been some more variety. As this film is directed by a director with a background as well as a writer (Christian-Jacque) it might not be such a surprise this story is rather talkative.Nevertheless, it's still a great film. What I enjoyed were the aesthetics of the film. The beautiful black and white shots, the carefully positioning of the characters at the foreground and background, the choosing between close-ups and medium shots. It is absolutely worth the time of the viewer and in my opinion even more enjoyable if you forget the story and start watching the actors. Especially Bourvil and Pierre Brasseur (with a hoarse voice, while his voice was so splendid in Enfants du Paradis) are great. In many modern films this sense of aesthetics is gone. There's hardly any logic in choosing shots, it is all about nonsensical close-ups and raw editing. Therefore I rate this 7/10.

I must say I really enjoyed this movie, in many ways. I'll have to include several spoilers to explain how.First, the story is engaging. Although we know "who did it" almost from the beginning, it makes it even more interesting to follow the investigation.Even more I enjoyed the actors and their characters. Marina Vlady's is extremely repulsive, but she carries it in such way that you keep wondering: could you resist her charms yourself? Virna Lisi shows another kind of beauty, fragile but just as irresistible. Bourvil's character is actually two persons: until the last half hour he is a Columbo-type investigator, full of self-confidence, playing with the criminal; then he breaks down as he realizes that he is powerless to resolve the case. And Pierre Brasseur is so annoying as the lawyer, omnipotent when in charge of the case, but a toy in his lover's hands.The ending I like the best, not leaving us with any illusion about the possibility of reaching the justice. Even if the court changes the decision, it will be just a consequence of the lawyer's moves in his immoral game...

French critics compare "les bonnes causes" to "winess for the prosecution" and of course they say it cannot hold a candle to it.They are wrong.Not that it might be better than Wilder's work,but it's downright different.Henri Jeanson's lines have not lost their bite ,particularly when he thrashes the légion d'honneur -it was not the first time- this award it's such a honor to get .The main difference between Wilder's "witness" and Christian-Jaque 's "les bonnes causes lies in the fact that in the former,Wilder (and A.Christie,the writer) saved the biggest twist for the end whereas in the latter we know from the start (or almost) who the villains are(Pierre Brasseur at his most cynical,Marina Vlady at her bitchiest).Virna Lisi portrays a nurse,unfairly accused of murdering Vlady's husband.Bourvil ,in one of his rare dramatic parts is the good loyal judge and Umberto Orsini the dedicated lawyer.It seems that in his last worthwhile (and sadly) overlooked works (this film and "le repas des fauves" ) Christian-Jaque regained his bite and his pessimism which he had displayed before in "Boule de Suif" and "un revenant" ."Les bonnes causes" ,which displays black humor too could also be a spoof on André Cayatte's causes célèbres.