Jenny Lamour (1947)

Interesting facts

• Filmed in: Paris

Quai des Orfèvres is a 1947 French police procedural drama film based on the book Légitime défense by Stanislas-Andre Steeman. Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot the film stars Louis Jouvet as Inspector Antoine, with Simone Renant as Dora Monnier, Bernard Blier as Maurice Martineau and Suzy Delair as Jenny Lamour. The film's title refers to the Paris headquarters of the police criminal investigation division, the Judicial Police headquarters, located at 36 quai des Orfèvres and the setting for much of the latter half of the film.

Production

Quai des Orfèvres was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and was his first film in four years. Clouzot had been banned from film making after the controversy after the release Le corbeau and due to Clouzot's collaboration with the German-owned company Continental Films. During Clouzot's inactivity, he wrote scripts for films that were never released.

When trying to find a copy of Légitime défense to re-read, Clouzot found that it was out of print. Clouzot wrote a letter to Steeman to obtain a copy and began to adapt the story from memory with writer Jean Ferry. By the time a copy of the book arrived, Clouzot and Ferry had already written the script which deviated greatly from Steeman's novel.

Quai des Orfèvres was also a comeback film for director-actor Louis Jouvet with whom Clouzot had become good friends before World War II. Jouvet accepted the part of Inspector Antoine on the condition that a flexible shooting schedule would be allowed and that Clouzot would cast some of Jouvet's troupe members in the film. Clouzot agreed and cast Leo Lapara as one of Antoine's colleagues and Fernand René as the music hall director.

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