Review "Le Cercle Vicieux" (Vicious Circle) A very obscure french film noire

Directed by French Jess Franco imitation Max Pécas this is a tight little thriller with enough to get you intrigued for 90 minutes, but also with enough to get you annoyed.

In this 1960 French film-noir, Sasha is a young, upcoming painter who is quite good-looking and not shy to please older women if he can get something out of it. Besides this, he has a "love-thing" going on with his favourite model, the italian Manuella. One of his ladyfriends, a gallery owner introduces him on a vernissage to the german countess Frieda Wromberg, who - in pure sunset boulevard style - takes him in as her lover and later her husband. 

Countess Frieda Womberg (right) attends an
exhibition (DVD-capture)

After the marriage he obviously cheats on her as she finds out through a private eye. Doing the Gloria Swanson stunt does not help as does not the plastic surgery she went under in Switzerland and that left here slightly disfigured.

Meanwhile, Sasha has found back to Manuella and decides to leave his wife, but to keep the expensive mercedes she has given him as a wedding-gift. In that car, he and Manuella get on the road to Italy only to be cut very short by a terrible accident. Manuella is dead, but the police assumes that it is Frieda who is dead and Sascha quickly returns home and kills his wife "by accident". He then buries her in the garden and accepts duefully the fate of a widower.

Two problems occur: Problem one is the unknown daughter-in-law that shows up for the funeral and problem two is the private eye who exactly knows that it is not Frieda in the coffin.

Sasha gets rid of the PI with a Walther P-38 and charms daughter-in-law into sexual intercourse.

Seems like he has made it....  this is 1960 and the ending is less obvious than you think.

Manuella, Sasha's love is played by the 
strangely very unattractive Hénia Suchar

The movie features a slight view of a fully exposed breast (the painter's model) and the on-screen stangulation of Countess Wromberg. Other than that, the movie is rather tame but very well shot and the first sequence, crawling into the windows of a house is an educated nod to Alfred Hichcock's rear window. And in fact, this is kind of reverse rear window: We see a man kill his nagging wife and if he can get away with it. The other stark influence is obviuosly "Sunset Boulevard". 

So first-time director Max Pécas tries to take on two biggies in the noir world: Hichcock AND Wilder. What can possibly go wrong?

Surprisingly little, but that "little" is annoying. The story is good, sets and lighting are good. The camera is pretty good and this is a tight little noir at the the end of the cycle - verging into neorealism but still in cinema-magicland.

Three things really let the movie down: The acting is stiff or too much. Overacting is the word. Besides this, all the actors are just reading from their cue cards. And very obviously so. Music is provided by Charles Aznavour, and good as stand-alone 7" single but not suitable for a gritty noir. There is only one video for the soundtrack on youtube and after nearly 10 years it has amassed a whopping 55 views. Talking about niche entertainment.... HERE

The ending is strange, but if you think about it, you'll know what will happen after the final frame.

The movie was a good success, giving hope to France that maybe Pécas would be "their" next Hichcock (boy, did that go wrong). It was released as:

Die Begierde treibt den Mann (Desire drives the man) (Germany)

La Doppia Morte (Double Kill) (Italy)

Panik (Panic) (Sweden)

De Ontocht (The Fornication) (Belgium/NL)

There is no english-language print. The only available source is the French PAL-DVD by the René Chateau Collection which has a prisitine look and sound but no extras whatsoever, not even any sub and you won't find an english .srt on the web either. Time to brush off your school-french....

Argentinian Poster

Begian poster using the full motive