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November 12, 2008
Philip French rates cinema’s greatest elevator scenes here, in the Guardian. Claustrophobics stay clear!
- France
- 1957
- 92 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.66:1
- French
- Spine #335
SYNOPSIS: In his mesmerizing debut feature, twenty-four-year-old director Louis Malle brought together the beauty of Jeanne Moreau, the camerawork of Henri Decaë, and a now legendary score by Miles Davis. A touchstone of the careers of both its star and director, Elevator to the Gallows is a richly atmospheric thriller of murder and mistaken identity unfolding over one restless Parisian night.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Florence Carala | Jeanne Moreau |
| Julien Tavernier | Maurice Ronet |
| Louis | Georges Poujouly |
| Véronique | Yori Bertin |
| Simon Carala | Jean Wall |
| Inspector Chérier | Lino Ventura |
| Chess player at motel | Jean-Claude Brialy |
Credits
| Director | Louis Malle |
| Producer | Jean Thuillier |
| Screenplay | Roger Nimier and Louis Malle |
| Based on the novel by | Noël Calef |
| Cinematography | Henri Decaë |
| Music | Miles Davis |
Disc Features
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE DISC SET:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- New interview with actor Jeanne Moreau
- Archival interviews with director Louis Malle, actors Maurice Ronet and Moreau, and original soundtrack session pianist René Urtreger
- Footage of Miles Davis and Louis Malle from the soundtrack recording session
- New video program about the score with jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis and critic Gary Giddins
- Malle’s student film Crazeologie, featuring the title song by Charlie Parker
- Theatrical trailers
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Terrence Rafferty, an interview with Louis Malle, and a tribute by film producer Vincent Malle
From the CurrentView the Current »
Film Essays
Elevator to the Gallows:
Louis Malle on the Ground Floor
By April 24, 2006
François Truffaut once wrote, “All of Louis Malle, all his good qualities and faults, was in Elevator to the Gallows”—a statement that Read more »
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Philip French rates cinema’s greatest elevator scenes here, in the Guardian. Claustrophobics stay clear!
News
Gallows Goes Live
November 12, 2009
Louis Malle’s shadowy Paris comes to our nation’s capital on November 12 and 19, when the HR-57 Center for the Preservation of Jazz & Blues in Washington, D.C., will host Read more »
ELEVATOR’S TURNING JAPANESE
October 08, 2009
Louis Malle’s noirish French New Wave forerunner Elevator to the Gallows is getting a surprising new lift. The Japanese producer and distributor Kadokawa Pictures Read more »
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Philip French rates cinema’s greatest elevator scenes here, in the Guardian. Claustrophobics stay clear!
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