Anthony Mann’s The Black Book (1949). One of the great unacknowledged forms of noir is costume drama. I can’t think of a better example than this campy, hugely enjoyable thriller about the French Revolution—-also known as Reign of Terror, with Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart, and Arlene Dahl--brilliantly shot by John Alton, the greatest noir cinematographer. I even prefer it to Mann’s more conventional noirs in contemporary settings, many of them also shot by Alton.
October 17, 1949
Melodrama of French Revolution
A. W.
Published: October 17, 1949
Since the events attendant on the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror were, to put it mildly, lively, the producers of "The Black Book" can hardly be blamed for choosing the period for purposes of filming. And, the period piece which clattered into the Globe on Saturday is simply good, old-fashioned action melodrama in which the horses, villains and the guillotine are not spared and which seems closer to standard Hollywood writing than it is to Thomas Carlyle. Suffice it to say that the derring-do is constant, hectic and familiar even if the history is obscure.
The point of departure in this cloak-and-dagger adventure is the theory that Robespierre kept his own doomsday book in which he listed all his candidates for the chopping block. The idea, of course, is for the opposition, led by a youthful and fearless disciple of the Marquis de Lafayette, to snatch that explosive dossier and with it expose the would-be dictator to the Convention. As has been noted previously, that trick is finally pulled off, not neatly perhaps, but not before quite a mess of double dealing, hard riding, sword play, fireworks, torture and soupçon of romance is thrown in.
The acting, obviously secondary in importance to the action, is notable, by and large, for the piercing eyes and grim determination of the principals. As the undercover hero, Robert Cummings is no exception to the foregoing. A stalwart lad, he liquidates the numerous dastards who turn up with speed and abandon and even finds time to rekindle the flame of an old love. As his romantic and political partner, Arlene Dahl is one of the most decorative conspirators ever to elude the tumbrils.
Richard Basehart is properly fanatical as Robespierre; Jess Barker is handsome as his conniving sidekick, Saint Just, and Arnold Moss is slickly evil as the chief of police who plays both ends against the middle to save his neck. However, despite the revolutionary declamations, powdered wigs and eighteenth-century costumes, the goings-on seem strangely reminiscent of the Old West. Substitute six-guns, chaps and the proper palaver and it could have happened deep in the heart of Texas.
THE BLACK BOOK, story and screen play by Philip Yordan and Aeneas MacKenzie; directed by Anthony Mann; produced by William Cameron Menzies; a Walter Wanger production released by Eagle Lion.
Charles D'Aubigny . . . . . Robert Cummings
Madelon . . . . . Arlene Dahl
Francois Barras . . . . . Richard Hart
Fouche . . . . . Arnold Moss
Robespierre . . . . . Richard Basehart
Saint Just . . . . . Jess Barker
Tallien . . . . . Norman Lloyd
Grandma . . . . . Beulah Bondi
Sergeant . . . . . Charles McGraw
Danton . . . . . Wade Crosby
Bourdon . . . . . William Challee
Cecile . . . . . Georgette Windsor
Marquis de Lafayette . . . . . Wilton Graff
Farmer . . . . . John Doucette
Farmer's Wife . . . . . Ellen Lowe
Gatekeeper . . . . . Frank Conlon
Duval . . . . . Charles Gordon
The film if not historically sound is at least visually sound; it builds its case by exploiting all the violence and political anxieties of the period. It moves through the night like a cat burglar stealing one's sensibilities before one can see that they have been taken by a master thief. It offers great filmmaking for such an unconventional telling of the aftermath of the French Revolution, that could just as easily be thought of as a crime thriller or even a Western
