Elevator to the Gallows
1957
Written and Directed by Louis Malle
Starring Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet
With Georges Poujouly and Yori Bertin
Score by Miles Davis
Elevator to the Gallows was Louis Malle's debut picture. Even at 24, the creativity and intelligence that kept him working until his death in 1994 are apparant throughout this first picture. It is, at times, an uneven work, unsure who it wishes to focus on, and unclear what these characters should do when they're situations force them into collision. Still, the film is a giant achievement--watching Maurice Ronet get himself stuck in the elevator of the title for ninety percent of the film never grows dull, and Jeanne Moreau's flawless performance despite a laundry list of over-the-top voice-overs is a testament to her considerable talent. Miles Davis, while never appearing in the film, is all over the sound, punctuating every failed connection and foolish misstep that Malle's younger protagonists take. Miles's score is one of the few film soundtracks that stands independent of the film as a masterwork of art, and rightly so. Although his late 50's output is justly overshadowed by his later achievements, this is the Miles Davis who would, in a scant two years, record what is arguably the greatest achievement in modern music, Kind of Blue.
Elevator to the Gallows lives in the shadows of far greater achievements for almost it's entire group--Moreau has been far better used here, Malle proved himself to be more interesting as artist than artisan, and the remainder of the cast found themselves working throughout France's New Wave movement, but that does not mean that Elevator to the Gallows is a slight film. It's an esteemable piece of work done by a precocious 24 year old on his way to better, proving once again why the Criterion Collection has more hits than misses.
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