Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet) finds himself in a tight squeeze in noir classic on cusp of Nouvelle Vague
CABARET CINEMA: ASCENSEUR POUR L’ECHAFAUD (ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS) (Louis Malle, 1957)
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Friday, June 3, $10, 9:30
212-620-5000
www.rubinmuseum.org
Louis Malle’s first feature-length fiction film, following The Silent World (made with Jacques Cousteau), is a classic French noir that comes with all the trimmings — and was recently restored in an excellent 35mm print with new subtitles. Jeanne Moreau stars as Florence Carala, who is married to ruthless business tycoon Simon (Jean Wall) but is carrying on an affair with Simon’s right-hand man, Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet). Julien plans the perfect murder — or so he thinks, until he has to go back to retrieve a crucial piece of evidence and gets trapped on the elevator. While he struggles to find a way out and Florence waits for him anxiously at a neighborhood bistro, young couple Louis (Georges Poujouly) and Veronique (Yori Bertin) take off in Julien’s convertible and get into some serious trouble of their own. Mistaken identity, cold-blooded killings, jealousy, and one of the greatest film scores ever — by Miles Davis, recorded in one overnight session — make Elevator to the Gallows a splendid debut from one of the world’s finest filmmakers. The film is screening June as part of the Rubin Museum Cabaret Cinema series “Rain,” being held in conjunction with the “Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual” exhibition, and will be introduced by documentarian Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry). The series continues June 10 with Deepa Mehta’s Water, introduced by writer Meera Nair, June 17 with Akira Kurosawa’s Rashômon, and June 24 with Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night.