Stavisky… *** (1974, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, François Périer) – Classic Movie Review 7418

Director Alain Resnais’s arty 1974 film Stavisky looks great and there is good playing all round from a strong cast, with the stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Charles Boyer well used. But it is more successful in conjuring up the atmosphere, style and manners of the period than as incisive and thought-provoking drama.

It tells an embroidered real-life tale of the Jewish financier Serge Alexandre alias Stavisky (Belmondo) who died in strange circumstances after a huge fraud was detected in the France of the Thirties. The scandal involving his friends in high places rocked the French government of the day.

The cast, the cinematography by Sacha Vierny, the costumes and the Stephen Sondheim score are all exceptional, and are the film’s main assets. It is such a shame that Jorge Semprún‘s screenplay generally lets it down.

Also in the cast are François Périer, Anny Duperey, Michel Lonsdale, Claude Rich and Silvia Badesco.

The story was fictionalised in the 1937 film Stolen Holiday with Claude Rains.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7418

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