Jacques Becker’s Casque d’Or, the story of Golden Marie, was not well received by critics or the French public at the time of its release. Despite this lukewarm reception at home, the film did manage to gather great acclaim abroad and has since gained a reputation as a great and simple portrayal of ‘gangster’s moll’ Marie (Simone Signoret) and her ultimately doomed love affair with principled carpenter Georges Manda (Serge Reggiani).
Manda and Marie cross paths at a lovely riverside watering hole where the gang that Marie belongs to are hanging out that afternoon. Marie is with one of the Parisian gang members but in the true style of that time and situation, she is nothing but a possession and she clearly resents that. She spots Manda meeting his friend Raymond (Raymond Bussières), who is also in that gang, and the two instantly admire the cut of eachother’s jib. All of this jib-admiring eventually leads to a duel where Manda is victorious over the bore who had previously laid claim to Marie, but there are far-reaching consequences. Gang boss Leca (Claude Dauphin) had already taken a fancy to Marie and when she seems to favour Manda, he hatches a sinister plot to separate the two lovers.
Like all good baddies, Leca is extremely devious and doesn’t let an opportunity to inveigle pass him by. He also knows how to use the better natures of those surrounding him against them, as they all learn in the end.
Here we have a narrative containing extremely strong central characters, none more so than Golden Marie herself; the memoires of the real-life Marie from the turn of the 19th century are said to be the reason why Jacques Becker was so attracted to making the film despite all the initial setbacks. According to the excellent making-of documentary on the Blu-ray extras, Becker was not the first choice to direct Casque d’Or as he was known to take a long time with each film, making him an expensive choice. Eventually, Becker’s mind was concentrated by shooting time restrictions into focusing the initial film idea even more exclusively on Golden Marie, which clearly worked in its favour.
Simone Signoret seems to embody Marie from the very first scene, her confidence and ambivalence towards the gang members are consistent features until the bitter end. Reggiani is almost as impressive as the unassuming but tough Manda; portraying great stoicism and resolve in making sure his obligations are fulfilled. The final scenes wrapping up their story are a thing of pared-back beauty, as simple and lacking in unnecessary flourish as the rest of the film.
If you haven’t already seen it, and even if you have, Casque d’Or (released on Blu-ray this week) is an extremely worthy candidate for a watch, with great haste.
Maryann has awarded Casque d’Or four Torches of Truth.
