GamerTab That was an excellent one.

RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

markmuhl Louis Malle is telling a simple story: when committing a crime like murder don't make easy mistakes since this will give space to unforeseeable events and justice will prevail. Some parts of the story may seem a bit overdone in order to demonstrate the unpredictability of other actors involved but on the other hand the movie hardly ever loses its style and it's this style that excels. When beautiful Jeanne Moreau, in her despair of supposed betrayed love, is walking alone the nightly streets of Paris accompanied by the fine jazz tunes of Miles Davis then it feels like contemplating a valuable piece of art.It is also true that the side story of the young couple borrowing the car of Mr. Tavernier is a bit awkward and not too persuasive but on the other hand the play of young flower-girl Veronique is really impressive. What an outgoing and enthusiastic but weak and shy character at the same time. I am sure even today's teenagers could relate to her.Moreover, the movie is not simply a crime story but also has its social and political statements. The victim of the planned murder (next to an unplanned murder) is an unscrupulous arms-dealer who has his connections into the highest political ranks. This does not provide a favorable picture of a post war France, which is even worsened by the submissive and hypocritical behavior that great parts of society show towards this influential man. Only drunkard Mr. Subervie is naming him the right way and by doing so he even stresses the hypocrisy surrounding him.Last but not least Lino Ventura gives a cool and pragmatic detective, a role he should become famous for in his career. The police questioning scene in the dark with the two detectives interrogating Maurice Ronnet for a crime he has not committed is another highlight of the movie.

Spikeopath Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (AKA: Elevator to the Gallows/Lift to the Scaffold) is directed by Louis Malle and co-written by Malle, Roger Nimier and Noël Calef (novel). It stars Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin and Jean Wall. Music is by Miles Davis and cinematography by Henri Decaë. A little ole devil this one, a sly slow pacer that itches away at your skin. Rightly seen as a bridging movie between the classic film noir cycle and the nouvelle vague, Malle's movie is in truth straightforward on narrative terms. Julien Tavernier (Ronet) is going to kill husband of his lover, Florence Carala (Moreau), who also happens to be his boss, but upon executing the perfect murder, he, through his own absent mindedness, winds up stuck in a lift close to the crime scene. Outside Florence is frantically awaiting his arrival so as to begin their life together in earnest, but when a couple of young lovers steal Julien's car, Florence gets the wrong end of the stick and a sequence of events lead to Julien and Florence hitching that ride to the gallows. Simplicity of narrative be damned, Malle's movie is a classic case of that mattering not one jot. There is style to burn here, with bleak atmospherics dripping from every frame, and Miles Davis' sultry jazz music hovers over proceedings like a sleazy grim reaper. The ironic twists in the writing come straight off the bus to noirville, putting stings in the tale, the smart reverse of the norm finding Moreau (sensual) wandering the streets looking for her male lover, while elsewhere he's in isolation and a doppleganger murder scenario is cunningly being played out. Decaë's photography has a moody desperation about it that so fits the story, the use of natural light making fellow French film makers sit up and take notice. While the dialogue, and the caustic aside to arms dealings, ensures we know that Malle can be a sly old fox. He really should have done more noir like pictures. A film that convinces us that Julien and Florence are deeply in love and passionate about each other, and yet they never are once together in the whole movie! It's just one of the many wonderful things about Louis Malle's excellent picture. Remember folks, the camera never lies... 9/10

Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki Julien Tavernier kills Florence Carala's arms dealing husband - but leaves a vital clue behind, in the form of the rope he used to climb up to the window, and down from it to answer his ringing telephone immediately after the murder. The climb up and down is suspenseful, the killing is tense, and the tone changes to somewhat comical, successfully. Julien realises he's left the rope, so he returns for it, and becomes stuck in the lift by a power outage. Carala is waiting for him at a nearby restaurant. His car's engine is running, and in fact, his car is being stolen. Car thieves happen to drive right in front of the girlfriend, who is unaware he is stuck in the lift, and thinks he's out with another girl- while he is, in fact, trying to break out of the lift he is still stuck in. The car thieves then become film's focus, as we follow them to an odd encounter, subsequent dinner, double murder - and their attempt at suicide. Julien manages to get out of the lift and away from the scene of the crime he committed - only to find himself the prime suspect in the murder committed by the two lovers who stole his car, and assumed his identity, the night before! A wonderfully jazzy, suspense/ comedy of errors set in 1950s Paris, filled with dark, yet crystal clear, photography during one a rainy night, a great jazz score, and more plot twists than one can count, without being overly contrived and convoluted, and sporting a wonderfully ironic twist ending. The film has a sense of humour, but the dialogue is handled mostly straight, it is some of the situations the characters find themselves in, which is meant to be funny. I'm not a big car nut either, but the Mercedes-Benz 300SL looks incredible, also. I had the pleasure of seeing this one in a cinema (along with Odds Against Tomorrow, Elevator To The Gallows, Sweet Smell Of Success, and Anatomy Of A Murder) as part of a mini film festival they called Jazz Scores Of Film Noir; this, and Experiment In Terror, were my favourites of the lot.

gizmomogwai Elevator to the Gallows, directed by Louis Malle, came out in France in 1958, the same year as Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo- and they bear noticeable similarities. Indeed, the Criterion Collection's booklet on Elevator cites Hitchcock as an influence on Malle. Both films are about attempts to carry out the perfect murder, with classic motives. Both are atmospheric and rich. Elevator to the Gallows may not be as famous, and I think it's somewhat underrated- Leonard Maltin gave it a lukewarm rating and claimed it "doesn't hold up," but failed to explain how and by what standards. He even got the name of the movie wrong, calling it by its bastardized title Frantic. I'd say Malle's film is one of the best I've seen from France and from the 1950s.In it, Julien Tavernier kills a man named Simon Carala because he's in love with Carala's wife Florence, played by the beautiful Jeanne Moreau. He tries to make it look like suicide, then forgets a key piece of evidence outside the scene of the crime. Going back to get it, he gets caught in the elevator, while his car is stolen by a young couple. The young man impersonates Tavernier, and then commits a murder of his own, for which the real Tavernier is blamed by the French press (which evidently doesn't have to obey libel laws).Elevator is a very good yarn, as two separate murders happen to be thrown together as a wicked twist of fate, with guns fired not by their owners. Some reviewers have questioned how Tavernier could have forgotten such an important piece of evidence, but come on- he had committed a crime, and probably wanted to be done with it as quickly as possible; forgetting things is understandable under the stressful circumstances. Like Orson Welles with Citizen Kane, Malle made a real cinematic achievement at a young age, and more people should see this movie.