Casque d'Or (1952)

100% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
77% of users liked it
(1,148 ratings)

The Paris demimonde of 1900 is the setting for Casque d'Or. Georges Manda (Serge Reggiani), an honest woodworker, falls in love with Marie (Simone Signoret), the "moll" of minor crook Roland (William Sabatier). Gangster boss Felix Leca (Claude Dauphin) orders Georges and Roland to fight a duel to… More The Paris demimonde of 1900 is the setting for Casque d'Or. Georges Manda (Serge Reggiani), an honest woodworker, falls in love with Marie (Simone Signoret), the "moll" of minor crook Roland (William Sabatier). Gangster boss Felix Leca (Claude Dauphin) orders Georges and Roland to fight a duel to the death over the girl, as prescribed by the "code of the apache." Felix then pins the blame for Roland's death on Georges' boyhood chum, Raymond (Raymond Bussières), knowing that the woodworker will nobly accept the blame; this will leave Marie alone, which is what the lustful Felix has wanted all along. When Georges learns he's been set up as a dupe, he escapes from the police and kills Felix. Casque D'Or was based on the true-life Leca-Manda scandal, wherein an otherwise decent man was guillotined for shooting down a gangster boss in broad daylight. Since the scandal was common knowledge in France, the downbeat ending of this film was hardly unexpected but still extremely moving. Completed in 1951, Casque D'Or was a failure on its first release but then built up an excellent word-of-mouth reputation abroad. The film was released in the U.S. in 1956 as Golden Marie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: Jacques Becker
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Classics

In Theaters: Aug 18, 1952 Wide
On DVD: Jan 18, 2005
Studio: Speva Films S.A.

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
An excellent recreation of a colorful French period.
Howard Thompson, New York Times
An insular underworld drama of love and revenge vibrates authentically against a vividly etched background of early century Paris.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
A radiant Simone Signoret dominates Jacques Becker's 1952 film.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
One of the great films of French cinema.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
impeccably filmed.
Tom Milne, Time Out
One of the great movie romances.
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)
Tough, lyrical, and one the screen's great romantic tragedies.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Most movies would ramp up the adrenaline to show the suspense-oriented ending, but Becker would rather emphasize the feelings behind these events. He shows Marie's face for long, potent moments, and that's all the drama he needs.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
the film's vision of love at first sight and romantic dedication is the potent stuff of dreams, and only the most fervent of cynics will fail to be moved by it
Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal
Becker turns what could've been a routine gangster flick into a minor gem with revealing camera work and smart twists.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
A DVD that film buffs and students will appreciate.
, Film4
It's Signoret's show, though, and she steals it with aplomb: beautiful and graceful she often puts in stunning performances, but few are as memorably captivating as this one.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Apesar da bela fotografia, da boa condução da narrativa (obra de Jacques Becker) e do magnetismo de Simone Signoret, o filme encontra-se datado e sua trágica história de amor não comove.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Stella D

simone signoret causes a whole lotta trouble but she's down for her man. the second impressive becker crime film i've seen. based on a true story, with old fashioned tragic romance that's not sappy and wonderful evocation of the demimonde in la belle époque
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Casque D'or" starts out on an idyllic summer day as a group of friends make their way to a tavern via boats. While there, one of them, Raymond(Raymond Bussieres) recognizes an old pal from prison, Jo(Serge Reggiani), who has since gone straight as… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Casque D'or" starts out on an idyllic summer day as a group of friends make their way to a tavern via boats. While there, one of them, Raymond(Raymond Bussieres) recognizes an old pal from prison, Jo(Serge Reggiani), who has since gone straight as a carpenter and is at the tavern with his boss. Raymond introduces Jo to his friends, one of whom is the beautiful Marie(Simone Signoret). Jo and Marie share a dance but this makes her fellow, Roland(William Sabatier), immensely jealous and he confronts Jo. But Jo clocks him before making his exit.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]These men are all part of a criminal gang headed by Felix Leca(Claude Dauphin), a crime boss with delusions of respectability. He sees that the altercation at the tavern could lead to waves in his finely tuned organization. So, he asks Marie to choose between the two men by that night...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Casque D'or" starts slowly but gets better as it goes along and builds towards a powerfully emotional climax. The movie explores the notion that we are all free and cannot be owned by others. Therefore, it is ironic that most of the characters are thieves.[/font]