Le salaire de la peur (1953)

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:

This was the first film to win both the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As the truck leaves town, when Linda is seen from inside the truck cab, she casts a shadow on the projection screen behind her that is showing the passing houses.

Quotes:

Bill O'Brien: The Hell with the Union! There's plenty of tramps in town, all volunteers. I'm not worried. To get that bonus, they'll carry the entire charge on their backs.
Bradley: You mean you're gonna put those bums to work?
Bill O'Brien: Yes, Mr. Bradley, because those bums don't have any union, nor any families. And if they blow up, nobody'll come around bothering me for any contribution.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Enterprise: Vox Sola (#1.22)" (2002)

The kind of film that instantly announces that it's the best of its kind

This is richer, tenser, more atmospheric, and in all ways a better film than Clouzot's next one, "Les Diabolique" - which is saying a lot. I've never understood why Clouzot isn't more highly regarded. Indeed, for a long time I simply couldn't believe that he wasn't.

One charge that hangs over his head is misogyny. With regards to "Les Diabolique" this is simply ridiculous; with regards to "The Wages of Fear", I can see how one could harbour the uncomfortable feeling that there is, perhaps, something in it. But what, really, does the evidence amount to? The fact that one of the heroes is inexcusably cruel to his girlfriend? It's not as if the film endorses this, or invites us to take pleasure in it, or even, for that matter, allows us to. The characters are all flawed, and the film doesn't seek to deny it. It does, however, make an attempt to explain it. That town in the middle of nowhere is, we feel, really in the MIDDLE of nowhere; it must be the dustiest and most demoralising place on Earth. After a while we feel as if we could start kicking someone, just to break the monotony.

There's no doubt that the initial monotony gives the rest of the film half its strength. William Wyler once said that if you want to surprise or shock an audience the best thing you can do is bore them half to death beforehand - and although I can think of absolutely no reason why this should be so, allowing for a little exaggeration, it's true. The seemingly aimless opening sequences help make every single frame, from the moment the nitro-glycerin is mentioned, electric.

So much is, in retrospect, amazing. There's the way Clouzot manages to show us the humanity in these seemingly squalid people. (Even the oil magnate, just when we think he's the world's most heartless capitalist, reveals he has a heart with an unexpected remark, and yet the remark doesn't feel at all out of character - it's the kind of masterful characterisation film-goers live for.) Then there's the obstacles these drivers must face. All are memorable; most are so perfectly realised they deserve to be called mythic.