Saturday, January 1, 2022

365 Days: #1 Drôle de drame (1937)

Happy New Year, movie lovers! Last year, I made a resolution to watch a new movie every day, which lasted longer than most resolutions, but still fell apart pretty quickly. Since it was a lot of fun, I decided to give it another go, and am giving myself 365 days to fall in love with more movies. Some, like today's feature, will be movies I know and love well, while others will be new to me. 

#1 Drôle de drame


Botanist Irwin Molyneaux, who doubles as a crime writer incognito to support his wife's demands for social standing, finds himself the target of a murder investigation after his sanctimonious cousin wrongly suspects him of murdering his wife, while a serial killer of butchers targets him for the influence his crime novels have had on him. 


"However, poor sinners, you are not the most guilty. The authors of these books are the real criminals."



I acquired this movie in 2016 as part of an effort to collect every Marcel Carné-Jacques Prévert collaboration I could find, that stemmed from my obsession with Children of Paradise (Les enfants du paradis), a movie that started me on my mad movie collecting adventure. This movie was based on the novel, His First Offence by Joseph Storer Clouston. While I have been unable to obtain that novel, this movie inspired me to seek out some of his other works, and I have just begun to read one of his most popular novels, The Lunatic at Large. I'm only on Chapter 3, but I am already enjoying his wit and well crafted storytelling.


Every frame of this satirical film is a true delight, and I never tire of watching it. The actors give top notch performances and the music adds just the right feel to scenes. At some point, I will cover it more thoroughly, as this is a hidden gem that deserves greater recognition. For this 365 Days project, posts will necessarily be brief in order to keep up my madcap adventure. While I may be hard pressed to offer any insightful commentary on such a schedule, hopefully those of you who choose to follow along may also discover some movies you love. 

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