Champs-Elysees/Lux. Director Georges Franju; Producer Jules Borkon; Screenplay Jean Redon, Georges Franju, Claude Sautet, Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Pierre Gascar; Camera Eugen Schufftan; Editor Gilbert Natot; Music Maurice Jarre; Art Director Auguste Capelier
Pierre Brasseur
Alida Valli
Edith Scob
Francois Guerin
Juliette Mayniel
Beatrice Altariba
Ambitious horror pic [from the novel by Jean Redon] depends on clinical operation scenes and the showing of deformed faces for its effect. It has some queasy scenes, but unclear progression and plodding direction give this an old-fashioned air.
Plastic surgeon daughter's face is destroyed in an accident. He gets young girls, lured in by a woman whose face he has saved, and tries to transpose their faces to that of his daughter. The operations fail.
Director Georges Franju has given this some suspense and not spared any shock details. But the stilted acting, asides to explain characters and motivations, and a repetition of effects lose the initial impact.
Lensing is excellent and technical effects okay. The editing is too leisurely and lacking in snap for this type of film.
(B&W) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1959. Running time: 90 MIN.
Contact Variety Staff at
news@variety.com