"Une cravate de fourrure" from Souvenirs perdus aka Lost Souvenirs (1950) A French Anthology Noir

"If I killed you, I would be completely crazy."

Directed by Christian-Jaque (L'assassinat du Père Noël (1941), Voyage sans espoir (1943). 

Souvenirs perdus is an anthology film that has as it's framing feature articles left in the Paris Lost & Found.

Each article is linked to a story that is introduced by Jean Davy as Le speaker the Voice Over that is the "Lost & Found" itself telling us the framing story as we wander the inside of the Lost & Found.

For example, story one Une statuette d'Osiris is connected to a discarded statue of Osiris that tells the humorous story of two ex lovers (Pierre Brasseur, and Edwige Feuillère) who meet again after many years at an Egyptian exhibition. Phillipe is an old con man who works the tourist crowd selling dirty postcards. Florence is toiling as a photographers model. When they meet, Florence is on her break from a museum shoot modeling evening gown's and expensive jewelry. Phillipe thinks she's now wealthy so he passes himself off, now, as a world famous Egyptologist. Written by Jacques Prévert.

Le violon - Another item in the Lost & Found is a violin that's connected to Raoul (Bernard Blier), a gendarme. Raoul has the hots for a widow on his beat. He bought the violin for her daughter, and he pays for her violin lessons all in the pretext of getting close to the mother the object of his desires. This also stars Yves Montand, Gilberte Géniat, and Léonce Corne. Written by Jacques Prévert. This story is played for laughs as is...

Une couronne mortuaire - Written by Henri Jeanson the title refers to a funeral wreath from a fake funeral starring Suzy Delare, François Périer, Armand Bernard, Yolande Laffon. It's another humorous segment.

Une cravate de fourrure

Wedged in to these is a Noir segment called Une cravate de fourrure and it is one of the darkest Noir's I've seen yet. 

This segment was adapted by Christian-Jaque and Jacques Companéez from a Screenplay by Pierre Véry with dialogue by Henri Jeanson. 

The Cinematography was by Christian Matras (La grande illusion). Music by Joseph Kosma (Autumn Leaves (from The Gates of Night) and Under the Skies of Paris from the film of the same name were both soundtracks that are now stand alone Classics). 

This stars Danièle Delorme as Danièle and Gérard Philipe as Gérard de Narçay. 

Danièle Delorme as Danièle

Gérard Philipe as Gérard de Narçay

Story 

The framing story of the complete film is of course The Lost and Found, Rue des Morillons, Paris. We are on a tour conducted by the "Voice" of the Lost & Found and on this segment we focus on a fake "sable dyed) rabbit fur scarf and hear and see the tale connected to it.

Une cravate de fourrure

Gérard De Narcay was committed to an insane asylum by his mistress and her conspirators his family notary and doctor for his "reckless and extravagant spending," He's in there over four years. He's harboring resentment slowly going out of his mind. He escapes, and settles accounts.

He goes to the State Theater Comedy Francaise. There he strangles his mistress, stage actress Julie Perrin in her dressing room. She was just about to go onstage. It makes big headlines.

Next is Mr Dalmet the family notary and now appointed Gérard's perpetual guardian. Gérard snags him off the sidewalk just after he buys his last paper from a newsboy, pulls him into an alley by the neck, and strangles him to death. 

The doctor who made the diagnosis of insanity is third on Gérard's dance card. Now, Gérard's searching in the market Les Halles. 

He's looking through cafe and restaurant windows that line a street, at the window of the Chez Biabaut, one of the doctor's favorite restaurants, Gérard spots him sitting at a table.

Gérard notes the restaurants phone # painted outside on the plate glass window, turns back down the sidewalk and goes into the Chez Felix bar next door.

There, Gérard finds a pay phone and calls the restaurant. When they answer, he has the doctor paged. Gérard leaves the phone off the hook, exits the bar and heads into the restaurant.

He follows the doctor who is now heading up stairs to the phone booth. On the second floor Gérard surprizes the doc as he is speaking "Hello" into the phone, grabs him by the neck and strangles him.

"Hello!"

"It was the notary"

As Gérard runs down the stairs of the restaurant, he passes a man heading up. That man sees the strangled doctor when he reaches the top of the stairway and sounds the alarm. This sets off a chase out of the restaurant and through the fringe of the market, picking up more pursuers as Gerard evades various obstacles in his path. 

He eventually makes his way down to a quay along the Seine. 

Gérard is walking along the dark quay when a police boat with a spotlight comes into site from around a bend.

Police boat with spotlight

Gérard runs to the nearest bridge and climbs up to one of the arching supports for the span that stretches across the river. He can escape the spotlight using the support and the shadow it will throw.

It works, the police boat passes. He's about to climb back down to the quay when he suddenly hears footsteps. Danièle, a young woman is coming down the stone steps cut in the levee from street level down to the quay. 

Gérard watches her as she comes near the bridge. She stops and stares out to the lights reflected in the water.

She starts to move forward, as if about to step off the quay and into the river.  

As she moved forward Gérard quickly slips down from his perch and gabs Danièle around the waist and puts his other hand over her mouth, to keep her from screaming. 

As he drags her squirming back into the shadows he tells her...

Gérard : Shush, its not a good time yet.

We watch, and listen as the sounds of the police fade into the distance. Gerard relaxes his grip and Danièle struggles less Then he lets her go. Danièle looks at him.

Gérard: Now you can. It's safe now.

Gérard just walks away from her. Danièle is caught off-guard and she slumps down into a ball. Gérard again hears some noise up at street level and walks quickly back to the darkness under the bridge. He sees Danièle there now cowering.

Gérard : If you call them they will come. Scream!

Danièle: No, go away.

Gérard: I'd like to. [hesitates] You could help me. Come with me.

Danièle: Leave me alone, why didn't you let me die? I've lost the nerve to do it now.

Gérard: Come with me, I'll help you die. You'll see, it's easy. But not like that. [Gérard pulls up Danièle  and they start walking along the quay] I want to live, I have to live. A few more hours. One more task. Come with me. You'll help me. 

They walk to another stone stairway and climb up to street level. 

Gérard: Aren't you going to ask why I'm wanted?

Danièle: I should be dead by now.

Gérard: Help me get through then.

Danièle grasps Gérard's arm and pulls him up to the street level. They walk across a Seine bridge to Ile de la Cité.  

When a police van approaches they duck into Notre Dame. When they get inside and close the door Gerard confesses to Danièle that he's wary of doors because "they close and keep you prisoner." 

Danièle walks over to a prie-dieu and kneels. Gérard watches, and tells her that if she's praying, "don't bother, Christ is on his side because he was betrayed like I was betrayed and locked up just like me. In a tomb but he escaped on the third day." Gérard tells her it took him five years. 

Gérard gets distracted when a priest comes out of a confessional. 

Gérard: Three time father. Priests are funny they always want to know how many times. Such accounting. "How many times my child?" Three times father, I've delivered justice three times. Yes I delivered justice. I punished them myself. 

Danièle: Shush be quiet. 

Gérard: My family locked me up. To steal my money. I don't care about the money but I care for my freedom. 

Danièle: It's awful.  

Gérard: Five years like an animal in a cage behind bars. Hearing the screams of the other victims in the cells. There was never any silence. 

Danièle: It's abominable. I thought I was the most unhappy. 

Gérard: The most painful thing was those who laughed. They couldn't stop laughing. As if they were going crazy....  Two more traitors to punish. 

Danièle[grabbing his arm]: Come on.

As they are walking down a street Gérard asks Danièle if she has a smoke, she pulls out a pack from her purse and sparks one for him. He takes a drag walks a few more steps and sags against a wrought iron fence.

Danièle asks him if he's sick? Gérard answers no. Have you eaten? He answers that he doesn't know. They start walking right out of the frame.

Here we cut to Danièle's darkened apartment as she unlocks her door and flips a switch for light. 

Danièle: This is where I lived. It's not very cheerful but you're safe here. 

She's speaking again of herself in the past tense but Gérard's hopelessness has sparked the mothering instinct. 

She removes her coat tells him to get some rest and goes to make coffee.

When she has left the room and gone into the kitchen, Gérard, slips over to the door and removes the key from the lock. When Danièle asks him what he is doing he brings the key to her telling her that keys are ugly things.  He points out that they have teeth and one mean eye.

While Danièle is fixing the coffee Gérard rambles on to her about how Louis XVI distracted himself from being king, tinkering as a hobbyist locksmith. How they locked the king up eventually "in a prison, like me. They cut off his head. No Head..."

As Gérard continues on in a trance like state he gets more agitated and deranged looking. Danièle backs away. He explains, coming closer, that they couldn't escape because they couldn't see the door. It was just four smooth walls all padded. Gérardnow almost looming over Danièle asks her. "You know what they called this hell?., an asylum."

Danièle backing into the corner of the stove, accidently knocks the tea pot off, and it crashes to the floor in shards. Gérard coming out of it a bit realizes he's frightened Danièle.  

Gérard: Are you scared? Of me? Why? Ah yes I understand, you really thought I was crazy. And a crazy man who promised to help you die. Why would you believe me? Why would I kill you? You helped me. You were kind to me. If I killed you, I would be completely crazy. I'm not crazy. I never was. I told you my family had me locked up. They claimed it was on the advice of the notary and the doctor. And the other one.

Danièle: It was silly of me to be scared.

Gérard: No it's my fault. I talk and talk and tell you bad things. Five years locked up alone. All the words you want to shout. 

Danièle: That choke and hurt you yes. Of course, when you have someone in front of you to talk to. All the words come out at once. 

Gérard: You understand.

Danièle: Yes though it's the opposite for me. It's kind of the same thing. You were locked up, I was forced to flee. I was forced to leave from everywhere all the time. So I didn't have anyone to talk to either. 

Gérard: And to think I was only thinking of myself.... And you wanted to die. 

He also asks if she's ever been heartbroken. But Danièle quicky shakes her head as if to throw herself of the thought, and turns for the coffee pot.

Gérard drinks his coffee. She offers him another cigarette. Danièle tells Gérard it was silly for her to be afraid. She tells Gérard that she doesn't want to die anymore. It's wonderful. I don't know why I did.

Gérard: It means you're crazy like me.

Danièle grabs a chair and sits down at the table.

\Danièle: I just feel like everything's changed all of a sudden. I try to remember but all I find is ghosts. This man.

Gérard: What man?

Danièle: My Father-in-law. I too have a nice family. My mother was a poor woman. She re-married a drunkard. I was seventeen, so he, ... do you understand?  

Gérard: Yes

Danièle: So he chased me around. It was untenable. So I was forced to leave. 

Gérard: Its pathetic.

Danièle: Then after him all the others. And the head of the workshop, at the cardboard factory where I worked, I had to leave too. Then I worked in a hardware store. It was the boss there. He was afraid of his wife, so he'd take me to the basement. (to unclog his pipe) It was despicable. It was always the same thing everywhere I went. So I though I go back to my father-in-law, and it would start again. 

Gérard: It's over now.

Danièle: The Last one was a widower. He was a stamp dealer. He seemed gentle, kind, and delicate. He was inconsolable over his wife's death. He was always looking at me, with his pleading eyes. Big teary eyes. He ended up being even more despicable than the others. (probably wanting her to lick his stamp)

Danièle gets up and is squatting down gathering up the shards of tea pot.

Gérard: It's over now. You'll forget all about it, this whole nightmare.You'll see. You'll live. There is more to life. 

Gérard starts falling asleep, his head lolls onto his arm. He jerks awake, doesn't see Danièle and panics. He yells out. She pops up from the floor and tells him he's falling asleep, and gets him to lie down on her bed.

Danièle, wanting we guess, to make things more "homey" gets some paper and lights some kindling in her fireplace.  

It all goes Noirsville when, once Gérard falls asleep on the bed, Danièle decides to go to the market for some food for the both of them, So she grabs her coat, and slips out of the apartment, locking the door behind her.

Noirsville

The continuous bombardment of Dutch angle cinematography from the get go, makes no mistake of signaling that the tale is going to be seriously "Noir Stained" and twisted.

There are points in the story where your emotions are rooting for Gerard and Danièle two lost souls who have by a picaresque trick of fate, found for a few fleeting moments something in each other.

Gérard Philipe as Gérard de Narçay gives us a great performance. Filmed at first as a very shadowy, sinister, figure wearing a long coat with the collar up and fedora low on his forehead, he slowly grows as the film progresses more anxious, helpless, and boyish. Danièle Delorme as the sexually abused Danièle is convincingly sweet and incurably naive. 

One hard core Noir, Bravo! 10/10