''Stain in the Snow'' (French: ''La neige était sale'') is a 1954 French

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Luis Saslavsky Luis Saslavsky (April 21, 1903 – March 20, 1995) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer, and one of the influential directors in the Cinema of Argentina of the classic era. Personal life Saskavsky was born in Rosario, Sa ...

and starring

Daniel Gélin Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin (19 May 1921 – 29 November 2002) was a French film and television actor. Early life Gélin was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, the son of Yvonne (née Le Méner) and Alfred Ernest Joseph Gélin. When he was ten, ...

Valentine Tessier Valentine Tessier (5 August 1892 – 11 August 1981) was a French actress who appeared in around thirty films during her career. She played the title role in Jean Renoir's 1934 film version of ''Madame Bovary''.Donaldson-Evans p.193 Selected fi ...

and Marie Mansart. It was shot at the Photosonor Studios in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. 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 ...

René Moulaert René Moulaert (1901–1965) was a Belgian art director who worked on designing stage and film sets.Thys p.316 Selected filmography * '' The Marriage of Mademoiselle Beulemans'' (1932) * '' Strange Inheritance'' (1943) * '' Night Shift'' (1944) * ...

. It is based on a 1948 novel of the same title by

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

. It attracted audiences of over two million at the French box office. The setting if shifted from

Nazi-occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

to a fictional country under German occupation during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Walker-Morrison p.241

Synopsis

Frank is brought up in a

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

by his

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

mother. As he grows up he becomes increasingly criminal and violent.

Cast

as Frank Friedmayer *

as Mme Irma * Marie Mansart as Suzy Holtz *

Daniel Ivernel Daniel Ivernel (3 June 1920 – 11 November 1999) was a French film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1947 and 1981. Filmography References External links * 1920 births 1999 deaths French male film actors People from Versai ...

as Krommer *

Véra Norman Marguerite Trediakowski (28 December 1924 – 19 May 2023), better known as Véra Norman, was a French film actress. Norman died in Saint-Arnoult, Calvados on 19 May 2023, at the age of 98. Selected filmography * ''The Sea Rose'' (1946) * ''The ...

as Moune *

Nadine Basile Nadine Basile (1931–2017) was a French stage, film and television actress. Goble p.140 She was awarded the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti in 1952. She was married to the actor Jean Martinelli. Selected filmography * '' Au royaume des cieux'' (1949) * ...

as Bertha *

Paul Faivre Paul Faivre (3 March 1886 – 5 March 1973) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''The House Opposite'' (1937) * ''Behind the Facade'' (1939) * '' Vidocq'' (1939) * '' Annette and the Blonde Woman'' (1942) * ''The Count of Monte Crist ...

as Le concierge *

Joëlle Bernard Joëlle Bernard (1928–1977) was a French film actor, film and television actress.Turk p.442 Partial filmography * ''Lunegarde'' (1946) * ''Quai des Orfèvres'' (1947) - Ginette (uncredited) * ''To the Eyes of Memory'' (1948) - (uncredited) * ' ...

as Une fille *

Camille Guérini Camille Guérini (1900–1963) was a French film and television actor.Biggs p.158 Selected filmography * ''La Chanson du souvenir'' (1937) - Veit, l'ordonnance * '' The Blue Veil'' (1942) - d'Aubigny * ''Les ailes blanches'' (1943) - (uncredited ...

as Le commissaire *

Claude Vernier Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etch ...

as L'officier *

Jo Dest Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy * ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series *"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from ''Tales of Us'' *"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from ''Lambs Anger'' * Jo a fictio ...

as Un Allemand * Robert Moor as Le professeur *

Jean-Pierre Mocky Jean-Pierre Mocky (6 July 1929 – 8 August 2019), pseudonym of Jean-Paul Adam Mokiejewski, was a French film director, actor, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Mocky was born in Nice, France to Polish immigrant parents, Jeanne Zylinska ...

as Le violoniste * Antoine Balpêtré as Holtz *

Georges Tabet Georges Tabet (23 January 1905 – 28 February 1984) was a French Algerian actor, musician and screenwriter.Goble p.141 During the 1930s he appeared frequently alongside Jacques Pills. Selected filmography Actor * '' A Gentleman of the Ring'' (1 ...

as Un Allemand

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. *Walker-Morrison, Deborah. ''Classic French Noir: Gender and the Cinema of Fatal Desire''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.

External links

* 1954 films French crime films 1950s French-language films 1954 crime films Films directed by Luis Saslavsky Films based on Belgian novels Films based on works by Georges Simenon 1950s French films {{1950s-France-film-stub