A stolen portrait, a war-torn coast, and a baron who definitely needs therapy. 1937 French romance goes HARD.
During the Rif War, a lieutenant commands a torpedo boat. He finds in an abandoned yacht, a beautiful portrait of a woman, and soon meets this one who is married to a brutal and jealous baron.
Acting
Edwige Feuillère's face launched a thousand torpedo boats, and deservedly so.
Cinematography
That yacht discovery scene — pure pre-noir shadow play on the water.
Director
Jacques de Baroncelli
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during France's brutal colonial suppression of the Rif Republic, the film weirdly uses Moroccan conflict as exotic backdrop for white romantic angst. Very 1937.
Edwige Feuillère hated this role and fought with Baroncelli constantly; her on-screen frostiness might just be genuine irritation. Method acting before it was cool.
FR
