''The Red Signal'' (French: ''Le signal rouge'') is a 1949 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Ernst Neubach Ernst Neubach (3 January 1900 – 21 May 1968) was an Austrian screenwriter, producer and director. Biography Of Jewish descent, Neubach was a veteran of World War I, after which he worked as a master of ceremonies in Austria, Switzerland and ...

and starring

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...

Denise Vernac Denise Vernac (3 June 1916 – 31 October 1984) was a French film actress. She appeared in 17 films between 1939 and 1966. Database (undated)."Filmography by Type for Denise Vernac" '' The Internet Movie Database''. Accessed 20 August 2010. Add ...

and

Frank Villard Frank Villard (24 March 1917 – 19 September 1980) was a French film actor.Goble p.121 He was born François Drouineau in Saint-Jean-d'Angély. Selected filmography * ''The Last of the Six'' (1941) - Un homme (uncredited) * ''Cartacalha, reine ...

. It is based on a novel of the same title by Adolf Schütz and Paul Baudisch. It was shot at the

Victorine Studios Victorine Studios (French: Studios de la Victorine) are a film studio in the French city of Nice. They are also known as the Nice Studios. Several small studios have also existed in the city. Originally built in 1921 in an attempt to create a H ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Louis Le Barbenchon.

Synopsis

In a small Austrian town,

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Mathias Berthold is haunted by the memory of his wife who died in a

train accident Classification of railway accidents, both in terms of cause and effect, is a valuable aid in studying rail (and other) accidents to help to prevent similar ones occurring in the future. Systematic investigation for over 150 years has led to the r ...

. Under psychological strain he hears his wife's voice commanding him to "stop the train". In a trance-like state he attempts to

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

the railway tracks, and is shot and wounded by the police. Realising his torment, he goes for treatment in a specialist

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Doctor Irène Dreiser, who is sympathetic to Berthold, takes over his patients during his absence.

Cast

, as Le docteur Mathias Berthold *

, as Dr. Irène Dreiser *

, as Ing. Nicolas Riedel * Yves Deniaud, as Le clochard Emil *

Pierre Sergeol Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, as Le commissaire * Claude Chenard, as Poldi Paladi, chanteuse * Roland Clair, as Peter *

Marcel Maupi Marcel Maupi, stage name of Marcel Louis Alexandre Barberin or Maupi, (6 November 1881, Marseille – 4 January 1949, Antibes) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Dance Hall'' (1931) * '' Marius'' (1931) * '' Fanny'' (1932) * '' The Iron ...

, as Le contremaître * Jules Dorpe, as Le chef de gare *

Jean Gabert Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, as Le gendarme *

Claire Gérard Clair or Claire may refer to: *Claire (given name), a list of people with the name Claire * Clair (surname) Places Canada * Clair, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Haut-Madawaska * Clair Parish, New Brunswick * Pointe-Claire, Q ...

, as Marie *

Jean-François Martial Jean-François Martial (12 September 1891 – 18 October 1977) was a Belgians, Belgian actor who appeared in mostly French films beginning in the silent film era of the early 1910s until his retirement in the early 1960s. Born Martial Joseph Gh ...

, as Le contrôleur

References

Bibliography

* Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. ''Histoire du cinéma français: encyclopédie des films, 1940–1950''. Pygmalion, 1986 * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1949 films French drama films 1949 drama films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Ernst Neubach French black-and-white films 1940s French films Films based on Austrian novels Films set in Vienna Films shot at Victorine Studios {{1940s-France-film-stub