Scent of the Woman in Black (1931)

The Worst Film Ever

Memorable, crazy movie

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Enchanted by his 1942 allegorical tale Fantastic Night,I was intrigued to spot a fellow IMDber recently talk about watching two murder- mystery "capers" from director Marcel L'Herbier. Kindly pointed towards the films by a fellow IMDber,I got set to meet the Woman In Black.The plot:As Mathilde and Robert Darzac get married, police officer Joseph "Rouletabille" Josephin opens the coffin of an infamous killer,and finds that the body has disappeared.Going to spend their honeymoon in a mansion,the couple learn of Darzac's disappearance,and also of a mysterious figure stepping out of the shadows called the Woman in Black. View on the film:Taking the unusual route of watching the second movie in the series before the first (!) the screenplay by writer/director Marcel L'Herbier brings things up to date with a brief flashback opening,which gives the rest of the movie the chance to go its own way. Unmasking one of Gaston Leroux's non-Phantom of the Opera novels, L'Herbier gives his adaptation some shades of Film Noir,by gliding across a mansion of double dealings,faked deaths and murderers lurking in the shadows. Initially giving the movie a glossy caper shine, L'Herbier disappointingly peels the shine off for a dry "chamber piece",draining the title of its desired sass,as Rouletabille has to solve everything in one location.Retaining his Silent movie style, L'Herbier & cinematographers Louis Page and Georges Périnal stub the movie with a stylish sped-up film technique,sending the servants of the mansion running along the wall,and a would-be killer and victim doing Olympic moves in silhouette. While the title character is not shown nearly enough after a tantalising moody opening, L'Herbier splashes the mansion in a glamorous Art-Deco design,as Rouletabille gets the first scent from the Woman in Black.

My friend dbdmonteil is clearly not a French Theatre buff if he can so easily dismiss Marivaux, Moliere, Racine et al but to be fair to him I think he was speaking in terms of French writers who have been adapted for the screen (and Simenon was, of course, Belgian) and probably even Jules Verne lags behind his two candidates in the 'based on the novel by' stakes. As he rightly says this title is invariably filmed as a sequel to The Mystery Of The Yellow Room, both of which were given yet another outing eight or nine years ago at the hands of M. Podalydes. This is yet another L'Herbier title being screened in London as part of the mini 'Fashion' festival but whatever the excuse it is a chance to watch French cinema from the early Sound period and Yes, the acting is mannered to say the least but it is still L'Herbier shouting coupe every every shot and 'L''Herbier' is synonymous with 'Style' so really what more do you want.

This companion piece to the 1930 version of the "Mystery of the Yellow Room" is somewhat less stagey than its predecessor but little more interesting.It takes place in a wider range of locations than its predecessor and there is a greater dose of farcical humour and physical comedy and action but it is again somewhat undermined by the weak performances of the actors and the overall B film feel.It seems primitive and artless compared to other films being made in Europe, particularly Germany, at the same time. Fortunately, French cinema would improve immensely over just the next few years after this brief lull with the emergence of talents like Jean Renoir and Jean Vigo.

Gaston Leroux must be the third best known French writer after Dumas and Hugo.How many "Phantoms of the opera" do you think there are? Marcel Lherbier was the first to transfer to the screen both "le Mystère de la Chambre Jaune" and "Le Parfum de la Dame en Noir ,which are in fact one long story divided into two episodes.Mathilde Stangerson marries her fiancé Darzac but there's a sword of Damocles hanging over their head: Mathilde's first husband ,Larsan,is still alive .Besides ,she and the criminal are Rouletabille,Leroux's sleuth ,parents.Like the first film,it suffers from theatrical performances (Hughette Duflos) ,still close to the silent age ,but L'herbier manages to keep the story clear enough-which won't be the case with the 2005 remake- and Roland Toutain is a good Rouletabille with his youthful looks.