Night at the Crossroads
Night at the Crossroads (French: La Nuit du carrefour) is a 1932 film by Jean Renoir, based on the novel of the same title (known in English as Maigret at the Crossroads) by Georges Simenon and starring Renoir's brother Pierre Renoir as Simenon's popular detective, Inspector Maigret.
| Night at the Crossroads | |
|---|---|
 Title card from the film | |
| Directed by | Jean Renoir |
| Written by | Jean Renoir Georges Simenon (novel) |
| Starring | Pierre Renoir Georges Térof Winna Winifried Georges Koudria Dignimont |
| Cinematography | Georges Asselin Marcel Lucien |
| Edited by | Marguerite Renoir |
| Distributed by | Compagnie Franco Coloniale Cinématographique |
Release date | 18 April 1932 |
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French Dutch |
The French director Jacques Becker, then apprentice to Renoir, worked as assistant director and production manager on the film.
Reputation and influence
Often cited as being Jean Renoir's least well-known sound film,[1] Night at the Crossroads has nonetheless maintained a very strong critical reputation. In an article republished as part of André Bazin's book on Renoir, the French New Wave critic and filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard described it as being "Renoir's most mysterious film"[2] and "the only great French detective movie--in fact, the greatest of all adventure movies."[2]
At a symposium on the Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr held at Facets Multimedia on 16 September 2007, American film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum mentioned that Tarr's then-new feature, The Man from London (also based on a novel by Georges Simenon), was influenced by Night at the Crossroads.[3]
References
- Allmovie: La Nuit du Carrefour
- Bazin, André, Jean Renoir (1992), Da Capo Press, p. 231, ISBN 0-306-80465-4
- Rosenbaum, Jonathan. Discussion. Facets Multimedia. Symposium: Béla Tarr. Facets Cinematheque, Chicago, Illinois. 16 September 2007.