Along with the 9 horror films on which his reputation rests, Val Lewton produced two other movies during his 1942-46 tenure at RKO. One was YOUTH RUNS WILD about contemporary juvenile delinquency and this adaptation of two short stories by 19th century French author Guy de Maupassant. The stories re BOULE DE SUIF (BALL OF FAT) and MADEMOISELLE FIFI. The movie was one of three films Lewton produced in 1944 and was clearly made to be a propaganda piece substituting the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 for World War II.
It was shot on the typical Val Lewton budget of around $150,000 making it the least expensive picture with an historical setting in American history. It featured a decreased use of the light and shadow that made the Lewton horror films so effective and that helped to hide the recycled sets he was forced to use. FIFI was directed by Robert Wise who would go on to a major career (DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, WEST SIDE STORY, THE HAUNTING, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, STAR TREK) but here his direction is nothing out of the ordinary which is not surprising considering the budgetary limitations. The film was a rush job to take advantage of its propaganda potential but n spite of that, FIFI still has its merits.
The movie belongs to French actress Simone Simon (fresh from CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE) who positively shines as the village laundress Elizabeth Rousset who stands up to the Prussian occupiers when her collaborator friends will not. Veteran character actors (and Lewton regulars) Jason Robards Sr and Alan Napier, are on hand to enliven the proceedings but their parts are obvious and overwritten. However Kurt Krueger (Rex Harrison’s assistant in UNFAITHFULLY YOURS) as the title character, a sadistic Prussian officer (M. FIFI is his nickname) and John Emery as a disillusioned liberal, match Simon step for step.
The story moves at a leisurely pace despite the short running time (69 min) but the second half redeems the first half and the sudden, brutal climax that features Fifi’s death is completely unexpected. In the end, I liked MADEMOISELLE FIFI more for the people in it than for the movie itself. It is a little known Val Lewton work and will be of more interest to his fans and to film historians. Most people will probably find it too talky and lacking in action and won’t be able to see beyond its outdated propaganda value. which is a shame. Still it deserves a quality home video release which it has yet to receive although it can be viewed on YouTube.
The Capsule Critic 