Chemins sans loi (1947) Directed by Guillaume Radot
Drama
Film Review
There's not much to write home about with this plodding melodrama
except to note a gutsy performance from the incomparable Marguerite
Moreno. No one in French cinema ever played the iron-willed
matriarch with as much relish, conviction and brazen eccentricity as
Moreno, and her presence is the only thing that prevents Chemins sans loi from being
completely unbearable. Ginette Leclerc appears chronically
underwhelmed by the whole thing and looks as if she would rather be out
doing something useful, like sacking her agent. There is a
distinct lack of flair and imagination in just about every aspect of
this production, and if you were wondering why director Guillaume Radot
is omitted from virtually every guide to French cinema here is the
reason why. Admittedly the story is dire - just a lazy conflation
of dismal, well-trodden clichés - but Radot directs it with the
enthusiasm of someone falling asleep during a wake. Chemins sans loi makes a very
effective soporific, but that's just about all it's good for.
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Film Synopsis
Inès, a young gypsy girl, is abandoned by her lover, a rich
landowner, and must fend for herself when she learns she is pregnant
with his child. She takes refuge at the solitary house of an old
woman, who leads a gang of horse rustlers on the French-Spanish
border. The years pass and Inès's daughter Dolores is
noticed by the landowner, who has recently married. Unable to
have children of his own, the landowner decides to adopt the little
girl...
Cast:Ginette Leclerc (Inès),
Jean Murat (Florent Lemercier),
Marguerite Moreno (Hélène),
Madeleine Rousset (Dolorès),
José Conrad (L'Araignée),
Michel Barbey (Petit-Plon),
Jean Clarieux (Dem),
Alfred Baillou (Julien, le bossu),
Grégoire Gromoff (La Douceur),
Albert Dagnant,
Claudine Dupuis,
Jacqueline François,
Paul Oettly
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Black and White
Runtime: 83 min
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