Le salaire de la peur (1953)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Writers:

Georges Arnaud (novel)
Henri-Georges Clouzot (writer)

Release Date:

16 February 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The complete restored version of the 1953 French classic [reissue]

Plot:

In a decrepit South American village, men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.

Plot Keywords:

Oil | Truck | Road | Village | Nitroglycerine

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins

Cast

Yves Montand	...	Mario
Charles Vanel	...	M. Jo
Folco Lulli	...	Luigi
Peter van Eyck	...	Bimba (as Peter Van Eyck)
Véra Clouzot	...	Linda (as Vera Clouzot)
William Tubbs	...	Bill O'Brien
Darío Moreno	...	Hernandez (as Dario Moreno)
Jo Dest	...	Smerloff
Antonio Centa	...	Camp Chief (as Centa)
Luis De Lima	...	Bernardo
Grégoire Gromoff
Joseph Palau-Fabre
Faustini
Seguna
Darling Légitimus		(as Miss Darling)

Also Known As:

The Wages of Fear (UK) (USA)
Il salario della paura (Italy) (alternative title)
Vite vendute (Italy)

Runtime:

131 min | France:156 min | 148 min (director's cut)

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | English | Spanish | German | Italian | Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric)

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 (2004) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:PG | Norway:16

Filming Locations:

Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

Compagnie Industrielle et Commerciale Cinématographique (CICC)

Trivia:

Yves Montand and Charles Vanel both contracted conjunctivitis after filming in a pool of crude oil and being exposed to gas fumes.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the bar M. Jo puts down a bottle of champagne on the table. It's almost completely full. Luigi then picks it up, while it's still full. However, when he stands up and threatens M. Jo with it, it's empty.

Quotes:

Dick: When I was a kid, I used to see men go off on this kind of jobs... and not come back. When they did, they were wrecks. Their hair had turned white and their hands were shaking like palsy! You don't know what fear is. But you'll see. It's catching, it's catching like small pox! And once you get it, it's for life! So long, boys, and good luck.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Speed (1994/I)

An unforgettable bit of existentialism on exposed celluloid

Whoever it may be to rightly claim that he invented the action thriller genre (Méliès, I suppose), Henri-Georges Clouzot's "Le salaire de la peur" is an indispensable milestone on the exciting route to the best films of that kind in the 70's, 80's and nowadays. In its tenseness, as symbolized by the danger of explosion of the lorries' loads, it has hardly been surpassed.

The plot is perfectly worked out from start to end, the leading players act in some of their best parts ever, the (almost) absence of music supports the brutal realism and the consequent choice of authentic outdoor settings contributed a lot to the film's deserved success. Historically, it ranges between neorealismo and nouvelle vague, and yet it is its pure action and suspense that make it worth watching for younger audiences who wouldn't go in for just the artistic way. - Only flaw I can see is the curious, rather artificial change in Vanel's character which has no comprehensible motivation, at least for me whenever I see it.

Apart from that, Clouzot's wife Véra (also well-known from his "Les diaboliques") plays to the "most breathtaking angles" gallery when she bows down to scrub the floor of Dario Moreno's gin joint. It's a man's world after all and there are male perspectives on human survival only. Well, it's existentialism, mates. Altogether, the black and white photography is gripping. The gun scene between Lulli and Vanel is one of the best montages in film history, and there is more excellent editing in "Salaire" (including the finale) that completely fits the hot atmosphere.