Set within the confines of an off-season inn and a nearby beach, cut off from the world by rain and cold, Such a Pretty Little Beach is a masterwork in the best film noir tradition: it grips by the sheer cohesion of its construction. Gérard Philipe evokes a remarkable tension between suspicion and sympathy as a melancholy young man who becomes a curiosity to the inn’s residents and regular guests (characters who are curious enough in themselves). The narrative takes place in several time zones while never leaving the “present.” Sans flashbacks or monologues, the story unfolds: the young man’s childhood as a public assistance ward at this very inn, his mysterious involvement with a famous actress, and the psychological implications of his return to the site of his youth. Yves Allégret’s noirs recall the mood of poetic fatalism of the late 1930s, but he avoids all arty flourishes and eccentricities in pitilessly revealing the dark side of human behavior. Many critics consider this rarely shown film to be his best.

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