Elevator to the Gallows
All actors and roles (10)
All team (31)
Short description
Julien Tavernier, a former soldier who served in Indochina, works for the industrialist Simon Carala and is having an affair with Carala's wife, Florence. The two lovers plot to kill Simon and make it look like a suicide, and Julien carries out the murder in the man's office. On his way out he realizes he has left a piece of evidence behind, but when he returns to retrieve it the building's power is shut off for the night and he is trapped in the elevator. While he struggles to get free, Florence searches the streets of Paris for him, unaware of what has happened.
The film marks Louis Malle's first turn as director, the first of the thirteen features listed for him, ahead of Zazie dans le Métro. He wrote the screenplay with Roger Nimier, and Jean Thuillier produced. Jeanne Moreau plays Florence and Maurice Ronet plays Julien, with Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin, Jean Wall and Elga Andersen among the thirty-two credited cast members.
Released in early 1958, the film runs 92 minutes and belongs to the crime, drama and thriller genres. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.9 from roughly 31,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.6 from 731 votes. A critics' rating of 8.3 from sixty reviews places it slightly above those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Director Louis Malle (1932-1995) filmed the lead actress Jeanne Moreau (1928-2017) in close-up with natural lighting and often without makeup. Previously, the icon of French cinema, Moreau, had never appeared in such a state on camera. It even came to the point that assistants in the laboratory were shocked at how poorly the actress came out and simply refused to process the film. When they were finally persuaded to fulfill their duties, it became clear to everyone, including themselves, that Malle had managed to capture every nuance of Moreau's performance.
- The film is based on the novel "Elevator to the Gallows" (Ascenseur pour l'échafaud) by Noël Calef.
- The Mercedes stolen by Louis was a Mercedes-300 SL sports coupe. The car has gull-wing doors and an aluminum body, a relatively rare and unique vehicle.
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