Casque d'Or

Aside from director Jacques Becker’s revered craftsmanship, the primary appeal of Casque d’Or is the meticulous creation of France’s La Belle Époque, the “beautiful epoch” of cultural and political optimism that came to an end with World War I. Even France’s Golden Age, however, had gangsters: Roland Dupuis (William Sabatier), member of a local syndicate, is married to the beautiful Marie (Simone Signoret), who finds herself fancying carpenter Georges (Serge Reggiani), a reformed criminal. When Georges kills Roland in self-defense, he and Marie flee to build a life together, but the syndicate frames an innocent man to lure the guilt-ridden Georges out of hiding. Becker alternates mild criminal tension with idyllic romantic sequences, the final 30 minutes or so taking a darker noir turn after Georges escapes from police custody, culminating in a famously plotted scene in a dark, seedy motel overlooking spiritual ruin.