Desperate Decision +The Strollers + Beast at Bay

HENRI VIDAL Star-crossed “hunk” Henri Vidal (who died at age 40 from the effects of a long-term drug habit) is a festival favorite for capturing the “sprit of French noir” during his tragic, tumultuous career. We bring you three glimpses into his oeuvre confirming his singular place in the French noir firmament.

Desperate Decision / La Jeune folle

5:15 PM Vidal’s an Irish revolutionary who falls in love with the troubled sister of a man he has inadvertently killed. Director Yves Allégret (Dédée d’Anvers, Une si jolie petite plage, Manèges) takes a strange but fascinating turn with this unusual film, featuring a heartbreaking performance from Danièle Delorme. (1952, Yves Allégret, 84m)

The Strollers / Quai de Grenelle

7:00 PM In Quai de Grenelle and The Beast at Bay we see the physical decline of Vidal at each end of the 1950s, in tales presenting him in situations of exponentially increasing peril. The excursion to Paris becomes a living hell that must be seen to be believed. (1950, dir. Emil-Edwin Reinert, 100m)

The Beast at Bay / La Bête à l’affût

9:00 PM Vidal is a man on the run who escapes with a comely widow (Françoise Arnoul) who has taken a mysterious fancy to him. Pierre Chenal brings out a level of desperation in Vidal’s performance that will stay with you well after you’ve left the theater… (1959, dir. Pierre Chenal, 95m)