Goupi mains rouges (1943)

Director:

Jacques Becker

Writers:

Pierre Véry (novel) and
Jacques Becker (adaptation)

Release Date:

21 December 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In a french lost village an old woman is killed and her savings stolen. Several members of her family, all called:"Goupi-...", are suspected. |

Plot Keywords:

Color In Title | Country | French Noir | Based On Novel

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Fernand Ledoux	...	Léopold Goupi dit Goupi-Mains-Rouges
Georges Rollin	...	Eugène Goupi dit Goupi-Monsieur
Blanchette Brunoy	...	Antoinette Goupi dite Goupi-Muguet
Arthur Devère	...	Goupi-Mes-Sous
Germaine Kerjean	...	Goupi-Tisane
Maurice Schutz	...	Goupi-L'Empereur
Marcel Pérès	...	Eusèbe
Albert Rémy	...	Jean des Goupi (as Rémy)
Marcelle Hainia	...	Goupi-Cancan
Louis Seigner	...	L'instituteur
Pierre Labry	...	Minain
Guy Favières	...	Goupi-La-Loi
Line Noro	...	Marie des Goupi
René Génin	...	Goupi-Dicton
Robert Le Vigan	...	Goupi-Tonkin

Also Known As:

It Happened at the Inn (USA)

Runtime:

104 min | USA:96 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis-Klangfilm)

Certification:

Brazil:18 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Charente, France

Company:

Les Films Minerva

Trivia:

Award: Grand Prix du Cinéma Français 1943.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jacquot de Nantes (1991)

Meet the Goupis

Who could have wanted to kill Tisane? The list of suspects is a long one. Marie and her son Jean had just been told that they would have to leave the house where they had been taken in "out of charity," no love lost there. Mains-Rouges and Tonkin both had been the targets of Tisane's insults over the years, while Muguet had just been told that she must marry Monsieur, who has just arrived from Paris. The 10,000 francs that Tisane had hidden in the armoire are missing... The story as told by Pierre Very and Jacques Becker is full of atmosphere and menace and has the cream of French actors of the time (those who hadn't left Vichy France for easier surroundings).

Fernand Ledoux is splendid as Mains-Rouges; he puts on a deadpan face in order to play detective--we are told that the Goupis have no need of the police, they solve all their problems in house. Robert Le Vigan is once more at the top of his game: Tonkin is so poetic and threatening, an unforgettable performance. Blanchette Brunoy gives an accomplished performance as Muguette, the girl who is not sure where her heart lies.

A film classic that is not available on DVD is an orphan. Will somebody give this deserving orphan a home?