Jean Gabin runs a restaurant in Paris. He manages his team. He has an adopted son, Gérard Blain. There's his mother, who runs a guinguette on the banks of the Marne. His ex-wife's daughter appears; his ex-wife is dead and his daughter doesn't know what to do, so she comes to see him in Paris. It's Danièle Delorme in the role of femme fatale, who returns with designs that we'll gradually come to understand thanks to the script, which moves forward slowly but surely, with points of no return at every turn. She's going to turn Jean Gabin's world upside down.

Danièle Delorme carries the film. Jean Gabin is quite credible as the restaurant owner. Gérard Blain is more monolithic. The life of Jean Gabin's character is turned upside down by all these women: his deceased ex-wife, his ex-wife's daughter, his mother. We could even say that they are all femmes fatales, such is their influence on the various characters. This is a film noir.

It's a good thing that the music is sparse and not overdone like many films of the period. This makes the film even stronger. A very pleasant surprise.

After a long dark winter Jean Gabin comeback to work with Duvivier in this heavy Noir, a divorced Restaurant's owner living in a prosperous life in his high class business, when suddenly appears young daughter of his former wife, Gabin has a young friend who are in final medicine study to be a Doctor, Gabin suggest that both could be a lovely romantic pair, but the young woman will slowly manipulating all situation for your own benefit, seen that Gabin likes too much the prouder student, she acts on both sides, the monster show his sharp claws, so many lies, misleading and finally trying to murder, the heavy atmosphere caught everybody with so madness from this Angel face, the picture always was rejected by the moviegoers, somehow had many best reviews including from Truffaut and others, then the picture will survives and quickly became in a classic from Duvivier-Gabin, a near masterpiece in an old Paris Market, a little bit heavy for some taste, the narrow streets, old decaying area supply an perfect environment to develop such intricate story, just Noir genre allowed it to us!!

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 9.25

Jean Gabin runs a great restaurant right by Les Halles, the central market of Paris. He's bluff, hardworking, and has taken under his wing Gérard Blain, a poor medical student who works at the market, whom he feeds regularly and takes with him to visit his mother, who runs an inn in the country. Danièle Delorme comes to him from Marseilles. She is the daughter of his ex-wife, who has just died. Gabin takes her in and treats her as a daughter, but comes to have different feelings for her. There's just one problem. Her mother isn't dead. She's a drug addict staying at a cheap hotel nearby, and has a plan for profit.

It's a tale of betrayal directed by Julien Duvivier, and with Gabin in the lead, it's watching both at the top of their forms. One of the strengths of Duvivier is his ability to convince you he is what he's playing on screen. As the chef and owner of the restaurant, he's always busy, cooking, dealing with the staff, tending to his customers, catching fish for a fry-up outside his mother's inn. Others get their moments, like Aimé Clariond as an old rake who keeps bringing young actresses to the restaurant, like a character out of a Clouzot film. In fact, it looks like Duvivier is trying to out-Clouzot Clouzot, and he does a fine job of it.