The basic question at the heart of Jacques Becker's 1952 film Casque d'or is whether Simone Signoret is worth destroying your entire life over. The logical answer would be no. She's pretty, but she ain't that pretty. Becker's answer is the opposite of mine. Serge Reggiani plays the ex-con, now working as a carpenter, who has the misfortune to be introduced to Signoret by his old prison buddy. Fed up with her gangster boyfriend, Signoret gleefully accepts an invitation to dance, and makes sure her boyfriend knows just how gleefully. That opens up a can of worms that the dummy could just as easily have walked away from unopened. All this film really has going for it is general prettiness. Not only Signoret, but the costumes and the cinematography are very nice. The story itself is entertaining enough, I guess, but for most of the film I was just shaking my head thinking how Simone Signoret was so not worth the trouble.
Review of Casque d'Or
