Madeleine

The name David Lean is probably most associated with sweeping epics like Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965), but earlier in the director’s career, he dabbled in various genres, including crime drama, which resulted in Madeleine, his only film in this collection. Starring Lean’s real-life wife at the time, Ann Todd, as the title character, Madeleine was inspired by the true story of a young girl from a wealthy Glasgow household accused of murdering her secret lover in 1857. Stunningly crafted around the notion of Victorian propriety, the film is the opposite of hardboiled yet not entirely Gothic either; Madeleine Smith is technically a femme fatale, certainly according to her French lover, the handsome draper’s assistant Emile L’Angelier (Ivan Desny), yet it’s impossible not to see her as a victim of society, these pressures best embodied in her father James (“There seems to be something about your character that prevents you from acting naturally”) played by Leslie Banks. Indeed, the repression makes the affair somehow sexier, Lean planting not-so-subtle clues to indicate physical relations. While some will find the final act in the courtroom to drag on too long, this is unquestionably a beautiful film in which nearly every composition is captivating; cinematographer Guy Green uses low-key lighting and deep shadows to inject maximum tension into the anxious moments in cobblestone corners, passageways, and basements at night. Also deserving of special recognition is Margaret Furse’s impeccable costume design, which helps make the setting entirely convincing.