Purple Noon
Short description
Tom Ripley is a poor young American in Italy who makes his living by his wits. A wealthy shipbuilder hires him to travel to Italy and persuade his son Philippe Greenleaf to come home. Philippe, however, is enjoying life there with his companion Marge and has no intention of returning to the United States, and he treats Tom with a mixture of familiarity and contempt. Tom is drawn into Philippe's world of money, boats and leisure, and he wants that life for himself rather than the modest fee he was promised for bringing Philippe back.
René Clément directed this French-Italian production and wrote the screenplay with Paul Gégauff. It is based on Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, and it came fourth in the run of features Clément had directed, following Forbidden Games, Monsieur Ripois and Gervaise. Alain Delon plays Tom Ripley, Maurice Ronet plays Philippe Greenleaf, and Marie Laforêt plays Marge Duval; Erno Crisa, Frank Latimore and Billy Kearns appear among a credited cast of twenty-two. The producers were Raymond and Robert Hakim.
Released in 1960 and running 118 minutes, Purple Noon drew an audience rating of 7.7 on IMDb and 7.6 on TMDB. A critics' rating of 8.1 from thirty-nine reviews places it somewhat above the general audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Clément's film is the first screen adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'. In 1999, Anthony Minghella directed a remake starring Matt Damon.
- The English-language version of the film is known as 'Purple Noon'.
- The characters and psychological confrontation between Ronne and Delon will be continued in Jacques Deray's film 'The Swimming Pool' (1969).
- The film debut of actress and singer Marie Laforêt. In 1959, Clément saw her at an audition in the theatre and invited her to star in his film.
- In 1962, the film "Plein Soleil" (Sunstroke) won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Foreign Film.
- Patricia Highsmith herself expressed complete satisfaction with the film, particularly praising the correct choice of Alain Delon for the role of Tom Ripley. However, the writer was disappointed with the film's ending, calling it "immoral".
- The role of Tom Ripley in René Clément's film brought young Alain Delon, who turned 24 in 1959, his first major success. Alain Delon subsequently starred in three more films by Clément – "L'année du bac" (1961), "Les fauves" (1964), and "Paris brûle-t-il ?" (1966).
- Initially, Alain Delon was supposed to play Philippe, and Jacques Charrier was to play Tom Ripley.
- The film is based on Patricia Highsmith's novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1955).
- Romina Schneider, then Alain Delon's girlfriend, briefly appeared in one of the episodes of "Purple Noon".
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
