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 Posted:   Dec 9, 2021 - 5:55 AM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)

“Enough Rope” (French: Le meurtrier) is a 1963 French-German-Italian thriller film directed by Claude Autant-Lara. The film is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1954 novel “The Blunderer”. In Germany, the film was released under the title "Der Mörder". The Italian title is “L'omicida”. “Enough Rope” was the title, when the film was finally released in the USA in 1966.

The cast is esquisite:

Maurice Ronet as Walter Saccard
Robert Hossein as Corbi
Marina Vlady as Ellie
Gert Fröbe as Melchior Kimmel
Yvonne Furneaux as Clara
Paulette Dubost as Mme Kimmel
Laurence Badie as la serveuse
Clara Gansard as Claudia


René Cloërec, who had already been Claude Autant-Lara's in-house composer for years, wrote a very memorable score for this film. Excerpts of it were released on an EP in 1960. It was not until the 1990s that the same excerpts were re-released on a Cloërec CD compilation. -- There is very little film music of his available today.

Plot: One winter evening, Melchior Kimmel kills his wife, Hélène, on a road on the French Riviera. Although the police suspect him of the murder, he is not arrested for lack of evidence. A few months later, another woman, Clara Saccard, is found dead in a bus station. This time the suspect is her husband, Walter, who, coincidentally, is a bookstore customer of Kimmel's. Detective Corby is convinced that the two murders are linked - but how?

The film was released in France on January 11, 1963 through Tamasa Distribution. It had 946,050 admissions in France.

According to sources, this film served as an inspiration for the Columbo television series.

Suite from the score



0:00 Meurtre de Mme Kimmel
3:37 Générique
5:49 Concerto et Mort de Walter




===================

See also these René Cloërec topics:

- Sylvie Et Le Fantôme (Sylvie And The Ghost) (1946)
https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=146874

- Le Blé En Herbe (The Game Of Love) (1954)
https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=146259

- En Cas De Malheur (In Case of Adversity, aka Love Is My Profession) (1958)
https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=146510

- Les Régates De San Francisco (The Regattas Of San Francisco) (1960)
https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=146970

- René Cloërec Interview (1995)
https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=146829

 
 Posted:   Dec 11, 2021 - 6:10 AM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)

The sequence with the "Concerto pour Piano et Orchestre":

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 11, 2021 - 10:14 AM   
 By:   Stefan Schlegel   (Member)

Hardly any Cloerec fans may be found on this board, but two of my personal Holy Grail film scores have indeed been composed by Cloerec: His two masterpieces LE ROUGE ET LE NOIR from 1954 and LE COMTE DE MONTE-CRISTO from 1961. It is obvious that no label will ever produce a re-recording of them and in addition the original tapes for them are long lost.
In 2010 I had written this about Cloerec and all of it is still true:

"There is only one Cloerec CD available which was released in 1993 by the French Playtime label. It is nowadays quite rare, but can still be found in some French second-hand shops and is an essential buy for everyone who is interested in symphonic French Golden Age scores.

Stéphane Lerouge often stated in French interviews that they put everything on this CD which could still be found in the composer's archives - for example LE DIABLE AU CORPS could be rescued just before there was a flood in Cloerec's cellar the day after.
Unfortunately, no master tapes at all have survived for one of the great masterpieces of French film scores which is Cloerec's LE COMTE DE MONTE-CRISTO from 1961. It has always been Lerouge's big wish to produce a re-recording of that sumptuos score, but who on earth will finance it and who on the other hand will buy it? The original handwritten manuscripts are still there in Cloerec's estate, but probably we will never ever get such a re-recording.
Another one of my favorite French scores by Cloerec is LE ROUGE ET LE NOIR from 1954 which you have forgotten in your list of Cloerec/Autant-Lara-collaborations above. This is a wonderful film adaptation of the Stendhal novel with Gérard Philippe and Danielle Darrieux, but probably no one here among soundtrack collectors may know it. It is a depply romantic, very passionate score which in some parts - above all regarding the high string rgisters - has almost a Herrmannesque feeling and somewhat anticipates Herrmann's VERTIGO. A really great and enchanting score which should also be re-recorded because nothing has survived from the original 1954 recording."

 
 Posted:   Dec 12, 2021 - 9:55 AM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)

Hardly any Cloerec fans may be found on this board, but two of my personal Holy Grail film scores have indeed been composed by Cloerec: His two masterpieces LE ROUGE ET LE NOIR from 1954 and LE COMTE DE MONTE-CRISTO from 1961. It is obvious that no label will ever produce a re-recording of them and in addition the original tapes for them are long lost.
In 2010 I had written this about Cloerec and all of it is still true...



Thanks, Stefan, for reposting your thoughts. I remember those.

There may not be any Cloërec fans at all on this board. That doesn't matter to me.

I had taped Le rouge et le noir in the early 90s. Unfortunately, the programmed recorder stopped a few minutes before the end of the film. So I've never been able to see the whole thing. I remember the music beeing very good but I wouldn't be able to remember much of it after all those years.

One track from le Compte de Monte Cristo was released by Fontaine - so at least we have that one:




I have the CD compilation you've talked about. It contains 61 minutes of music. It's one of Lerouge's earlier projects. Today, such a CD would never be produced. It's a good CD (for its time it was made).

During the last week, I've looked more closely into what's around regarding Cloërec's film music. Is it really everything we have on that Playtime CD? The answer is: No.

Apart from those tapes he saved from Cloërec's basement just before the flood, there are a couple of tracks previously released on EPs. Strangely, Lerouge didn't put everything on the CD. Why? I don't know. In order to stay more focussed on Le meurtrier, I will not go into that.

But for now, just this:

A comprehensive Cloërec film music playlist that might be of interest to those who like French Golden Age film scores:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXoZOUANaCs&list=PLkAUJkbhd-RgkBwYYY_chjWpMD-2Rvf4W


A few comments regarding the playlist:

René Cloërec (Paris, 31 May 1911 – Saint-Cloud, 13 December 1995) was a French composer and conductor. While primarily known as a film score composer, he also wrote songs for Edith Piaf.

Unfortunately, very few recordings of René Cloërec's film music has survived and perserved. This playlist contains virtually all of what's left (and what's uploaded on Youtube - a EP with four tracks from En cas du malheur is still missing - only two tracks from a single release are around).

As a bonus, the complete album "Au temps des Dames de Chenonceaux" with incidental music composed by Cloërec, set to words by Jean Martin-Demézil, has been added to this playlist.

- LE DIABLE AU CORPS (1946)
- LE PÈRE TRANQUILLE (1946)
- L'AUBERGE ROUGE (1951)
- MARGUERITE DE LA NUIT (1955)
- L’AFFAIRE DES POISONS (1955)
- LA TRAVERSÉE DE PARIS (1956)
- EN CAS DE MALHEUR (1957)
- LA JUMENT VERTE (1959)
- LES RÉGATES DE SAN FRANCISCO (1960)
- VIVE HENRI IV, VIVE L'AMOUR (1961)
- LE COMTE DE MONTE CRISTO (1961)
- LE MEURTRIER (1963)


BONUS
- Au temps des Dames de Chenonceaux

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 12, 2021 - 12:05 PM   
 By:   Stefan Schlegel   (Member)


One track from le Compte de Monte Cristo was released by Fontaine - so at least we have that one:
I have the CD compilation you've talked about. It contains 61 minutes of music. It's one of Lerouge's earlier projects. Today, such a CD would never be produced. It's a good CD (for its time it was made).
During the last week, I've looked more closely into what's around regarding Cloërec's film music. Is it really everything we have on that Playtime CD? The answer is: No.


Of course, Clément Fontaine took this MONTE-CRISTO Main Title directly from the film - certainly from the DVD which nowadays is easily available everywhere.

There is not so much material missing on that Playtime CD from the 90s:
Mainly the two Versailles EPs of EN CAS DE MALHEUR (the tracks from EN CAS DE MALHEUR which are on the Playtime CD came mainly from a re-recording done by Ray Ventura and His Orchestra for the US Everest LP LOVE IS MY PROFESSION/WHERE THE HOT WIND BLOWS) and LES REGATES DE SAN FRANCISCO (1960). And there is one cue from the JUMENT VERTE EP - the "Marche des Fifres" - which is also missing on the CD.

I have the 10" LP of AU TEMPS DES DAMES DE CHENONCEAUX. This is no soundtrack, but was a "Son et Lumière" spectacle from 1953 with beautiful incidental music by Cloerec.

 
 Posted:   Dec 13, 2021 - 8:13 AM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)

Well the missing music adds up to at least more than 11-14 minutes. That's a substantial amount compared to what's there on the Playtime CD.

I wonder why Lerouge left out the march from that EP. I also wonder what kind of tapes he actually safed from the flood at the time.

Now, back to Le meurtrier: I really think this music would be ideal for any classical trained pianist interested in this kind of music to add to his or her own repertoire. Someone like Valentina Lisitsa (remember her 2015 album "Love Story"?). -- Perform it and record it. Instead of doing a 2011th Mozart concerto or even another Warshaw concerto etc. That Cloërec music is great and should be rediscovered by others.

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 13, 2021 - 8:43 AM   
 By:   Stefan Schlegel   (Member)

I wonder why Lerouge left out the march from that EP. I also wonder what kind of tapes he actually safed from the flood at the time.


Here is that interview with Lerouge from 2010 where he talks about Cloerec and the tapes he found:

"Il y a un compositeur que j’aimais beaucoup, et à chaque fois que je peux l’évoquer, je le fais. C’est l’un des compositeurs français de sa génération qui savait le mieux utiliser l’outil symphonique, avec en plus une inspiration thématique d’une force étonnante : René Cloërec. Je l’aimais beaucoup, j’étais très ami avec lui, je l’ai rencontré en 1991, il est mort en 1995 à l’âge de 84 ans. Il avait écrit les musiques des films de Claude Autant-Lara et on avait fait un disque avec le matériel qu’on avait trouvé : L’Auberge Rouge, En Cas de Malheur, Le Diable au Corps… Pour l’anecdote, comme il habitait dans le même appartement depuis quarante ans, on était tous les deux descendus dans sa cave où l’on avait trouvé les bandes d’époque du Diable au Corps de 1948, on les avait remontées dans son appartement, et deux jours plus tard, la cave a été inondée ! C’est une partition qui aurait disparu à jamais si la providence, ce jour-là, n’avait pas fait le forcing !

Il y a deux partitions de Cloërec qui ont disparu à jamais, deux partitions vraiment magnifiques. C’est Le Rouge et le Noir, pour orchestre et chœurs, et Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, la version de 1961, qui est une grande partition qui respire la mer, les embruns, l’aventure maritime, une partition vraiment tragique d’une force incroyable ! On sent le sentiment de la fatalité dès le générique de début. Et Cloërec avait les conducteurs, il voulait les réenregistrer avec un son d’aujourd’hui, mais le temps nous a manqué…"
http://www.underscores.fr/rencontres/interviews/2010/09/les-tresors-de-stephane-lerouge/

 
 Posted:   Dec 13, 2021 - 9:16 AM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)

Ah, I forgot about that part in the interview. Thanks for refreshing my memory.

So, this means, that they got just the tapes from "Le Diable au Corps" (1948) down in the cellar. And why was there only one track on the Playtime CD? Did Cloërec just have that one piece of music stored down there? Still strange.

Also, it's saddening to see that Lerouge and Cloërec tried to rerecord his music but failed to do so in the end.


Here is an idea: Why not record a CD with "Film Concertos for Love & Murder": Put on it some Herrmann, Cloërec, Bennett and what have you. Mix the better known stuff with the more arcane material.

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 13, 2021 - 9:39 AM   
 By:   Stefan Schlegel   (Member)

So, this means, that they got just the tapes from "Le Diable au Corps" (1948) down in the cellar. And why was there only one track on the Playtime CD? Did Cloërec just have that one piece of music stored down there? Still strange.

There are two tracks from LE DIABLE AU CORPS on the Playtime CD - the Main Title and the Finale which together have a duration of 4:24 minutes. Nevertheless, it is still strange that Lerouge put only those two cues on the CD. As far as I understand it from the interview, they must have found the complete DIABLE acetates or tapes in Cloerec´s cellar - so it is a bit of a puzzle why not more music has been released from this score on CD.
I don´t think that DIABLE was the only score they found. You have to consider that for example from MARGUERITE DE LA NUIT from 1955 and VIVE HENRI IV, VIVE L´AMOUR from 1961 nothing had been available at all before that Playtime disc. And from both titles there are even several tracks on the CD. So I suppose that tapes of these had also been found in Cloerec´s personal archive.

 
 Posted:   Dec 13, 2021 - 4:13 PM   
 By:   Sean Nethery   (Member)

This movie was the inspiration for Columbo.

I appreciate this thread, and all the information and music - very instructive. Thank you.

But Lt. Columbo premiered in the original theatrical version of Prescription Murder in 1962, a year before this was released. The play was adapted for television in 1968, starting the Peter Falk/Columbo ball rolling.

My understanding is that Les Diaboliques from 1955 was the French film that inflluenced Levinson and Link to create Columbo.

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 13, 2021 - 5:26 PM   
 By:   ZardozSpeaks   (Member)


My understanding is that Les Diaboliques from 1955 was the French film that inflluenced Levinson and Link to create Columbo.


Another great COLUMBO-type story (before there was a Columbo character) is in The Snorkel made by Hammer Films in 1958 (with music by Francis Chagrin). But this another topic, so I direct attention back to René Cloërec and suggest folks check into The Red Inn (1951) - another Autant-Lara/Cloërec collaboration which is, perhaps, my favorite black comedy.

 
 Posted:   Dec 13, 2021 - 6:40 PM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)

Thanks for all your comments, Sean Nethery and ZardozSpeaks.

Regarding the source of inspiration for Columbo:
I found this information on IMDb and thought it was interesting to add this bit. I'm not an expert on the Columbo universe, but I do know that some time before Autant-Lara's film was released (US year of release was 1966), people were trying to adapt this character in one way or another for film/TV. So the person who submitted this information must know more than I do, and, I'd rather put it this way now:
"According to sources, this film served as an inspiration for the Columbo television series."
I'm sure there were other sources that helped shape the Columbo series (one of which is as old as Dostoevsky, that is, Crime and Punishment, for example). Could it be that the US writers of the Peter Falk series were inspired by how the character of Corbi (played by Robert Hossein) investigates the two murders in Enough Rope? By the way, Enough Rope was also a title of a 1960 TV episode, The Chevy Mystery Show, and that one is considered as a precursor of Columbo; so in other words, there might be some confusion between the two "Enough Ropes"?

The Snorkel is good. I found it on YT this summer and downloaded it. Peter van Eyck is always worth watching (but he did some duds -- The Snorkel isn't one of 'em). Thanks for the tip about The Red Inn (L’auberge rouge). I don’t think I have seen that one yet.

 
 Posted:   Dec 13, 2021 - 6:50 PM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)

So, this means, that they got just the tapes from "Le Diable au Corps" (1948) down in the cellar. And why was there only one track on the Playtime CD? Did Cloërec just have that one piece of music stored down there? Still strange.

There are two tracks from LE DIABLE AU CORPS on the Playtime CD - the Main Title and the Finale which together have a duration of 4:24 minutes. Nevertheless, it is still strange that Lerouge put only those two cues on the CD. As far as I understand it from the interview, they must have found the complete DIABLE acetates or tapes in Cloerec´s cellar - so it is a bit of a puzzle why not more music has been released from this score on CD.
I don´t think that DIABLE was the only score they found. You have to consider that for example from MARGUERITE DE LA NUIT from 1955 and VIVE HENRI IV, VIVE L´AMOUR from 1961 nothing had been available at all before that Playtime disc. And from both titles there are even several tracks on the CD. So I suppose that tapes of these had also been found in Cloerec´s personal archive.



Yes, of course, you're right, those two tracks were combined for the CD release.

Lerouge made it a habit to leave out previously released material on reissues as we all know.
And maybe he saw it fit, to even leave out music that was previously unreleased for that Cloërec CD as well?
He deserves a lot of credit for what he did to preserve French film music. But he has also, in my opinion, done a still hurtful disservice by not releasing everything that was possible. Because those windows of opportunities are mostly closed now. And who knows when another chance comes to revisit those projects?

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 14, 2021 - 3:39 AM   
 By:   Stefan Schlegel   (Member)


Lerouge made it a habit to leave out previously released material on reissues as we all know.
And maybe he saw it fit, to even leave out music that was previously unreleased for that Cloërec CD as well?
He deserves a lot of credit for what he did to preserve French film music. But he has also, in my opinion, done a still hurtful disservice by not releasing everything that was possible.


However, in truth it has to be said that Lerouge was sometimes, but not always the one to blame for this. In a French interview he epxlained which things can happen:
Often composers like Jansen or Sarde didn´t want some tracks to be released anymore which had formerly been on LP or Single and could be very stubborn about this so that he had to give in. On other occasions master tapes can be incomplete so that tracks which were formerly available are missing now. And on even other occasions it is an aesthetic decision not only by him, but also by others who are involved - for example Delerue´s widow - in the production of such a release.
Just read for yourself what he has to say about all of this - it is the middle part of this interview:

http://www.underscores.fr/rencontres/interviews/2010/11/interview-stephane-lerouge-ecoutez-le-cinema-10-ans-apres/

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 14, 2021 - 5:59 AM   
 By:   Dorian   (Member)

I've had the Cloërec CD from Playtime for 15 years or maybe longer and I've always been very fond of it. Very enjoyable title though nowadays it feels as if it was coming from another era - both the music and the artwork.

I love the movie L'AUBERGE ROUGE and there is some great (unreleased) underscore next to the opening/closing song by Yves Montand which is on the CD (well, not the closing part, of course).

 
 Posted:   Dec 15, 2021 - 6:15 AM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)


Lerouge made it a habit to leave out previously released material on reissues as we all know.
And maybe he saw it fit, to even leave out music that was previously unreleased for that Cloërec CD as well?
He deserves a lot of credit for what he did to preserve French film music. But he has also, in my opinion, done a still hurtful disservice by not releasing everything that was possible.


However, in truth it has to be said that Lerouge was sometimes, but not always the one to blame for this. In a French interview he epxlained which things can happen:
Often composers like Jansen or Sarde didn´t want some tracks to be released anymore which had formerly been on LP or Single and could be very stubborn about this so that he had to give in. On other occasions master tapes can be incomplete so that tracks which were formerly available are missing now. And on even other occasions it is an aesthetic decision not only by him, but also by others who are involved - for example Delerue´s widow - in the production of such a release.
Just read for yourself what he has to say about all of this - it is the middle part of this interview:

http://www.underscores.fr/rencontres/interviews/2010/11/interview-stephane-lerouge-ecoutez-le-cinema-10-ans-apres/



Yes, you are right to reference the whole interview. I shouldn't be too hard on Lerouge. We don't know all the backstories anyway. - By the way, it's funny that Jansen seemed to be so reluctant: I read elsewhere that he would even have been willing to make his music available for free, but that wasn't possible because he didn't own any (or at least not all) of the rights.

 
 Posted:   Dec 15, 2021 - 6:18 AM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)

I've had the Cloërec CD from Playtime for 15 years or maybe longer and I've always been very fond of it. Very enjoyable title though nowadays it feels as if it was coming from another era - both the music and the artwork.

I love the movie L'AUBERGE ROUGE and there is some great (unreleased) underscore next to the opening/closing song by Yves Montand which is on the CD (well, not the closing part, of course).



Ancient times, ancient times.

Just look at the trailer of "Marguerite de la nuit" (1955):

 
 Posted:   Feb 7, 2022 - 8:28 AM   
 By:   Sehnsuchtshafen   (Member)

I watched the German dubbed version of "Le Meurtrier" over the weekend. The copy was far from ideal. But what the heck. If I ever saw the film, and I can't remember doing so, it must have been on TV sometime in the 80s. A few scenes of Fröbe interrogated while on the floor without his glasses came across as very vaguely familiar to me.

But that's not the main reason why I'm writing about Autant-Lara's murder drama again. The film is simply extremely well made. Patricia Highsmith's novel, which I regrettably haven't read, certainly gave the screenwriters a very solid basis to weave a thrilling mystery around a cluster of psychotic characters. The cast is congenial right down to the small supporting roles. Gert Fröbe gives a supreme performance of his fach - a year before Goldfinger. The role of Monsieur Kimmel is, in my opinion, one of his absolute best.

René Cloërec's score is highly effective in the film. The fact that we have the selections from it on an EP and later on CD is very fortunate. Otherwise, this score might have been completely lost. I would say that what is on the EP represents Cloërec's score very well overall. The opening scene, already quite atmospheric without music, gets a huge boost of extra drama thanks to Cloërec's variation of the Concerto. - It was annoying, however, that the German distributor shortened the opening credits by a couple of Credits and, as a result, a few bars of music. The title card for René Cloërec was also cut. An affront.

I can recommend the film to anyone who is receptive to the genre of the psychologically intelligent thriller, who likes film noir à la français or who simply wants to beguile his cinéphile senses with this underrated masterpiece.

Two more remarks on the US film title "Enough Rope" and on alleged references to the crime series "Columbo":

1) "Enough Rope" makes little sense to me as the title. I think it would have been better to use the title of the novel "The Blunderer" as the film title. Let everyone find out for themselves who is the bigger blunderer of them all. There is more than one. And that is largely what makes Highsmith's jarringly black humour so distinctive.

2) Saccard, who is suspected of murder, drives a Peugeot convertible in the film. I'm no particular car expert, but I think it could be a similar model to the one Columbo drives in the series. -- Inspector Corbi might have served at best partly as an inspiration for the US character of Columbo, especially his devious investigative methods that help him expose suspects of their lies. Completely absent, on the other hand, would be Corbi's ultra-brutal interrogation methods and also his ultimately astonishing stupidity in recognising obvious links. He is a blunderer, too.

 
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