Le septième ciel (1958) User Reviews

'Raymond Bernard''s last film.

[dbdumonteil · 7/10 · 10 July 2010]

...And against all odds ,a good film, a very funny comedy full of black humor.

Madame De Loudéville is a benefactress,always ready to give millions to the needy ,from the TB patients to the poor black children from Africa.All the city council sings her praise ,calls her a saint and is to erect a statue of her.

And yet ,she only owns a brewery and her beer is called "Trois Etoiles".

Madame De Loudéville has strict morals:scoundrels must go to heaven ,and the only way for them to redeem their soul is to die after they "gave " their money to those in strained circumstances.So the chic lady helps them to die by murdering them with a little help of her henchman (Noel Noel) whom she knows is in love with her...as are/were her victims:nine in total so far...They are buried in her garden under hydrangeas ("our good lady!her favorite flower!")and their clumps are clock-shaped ("soon ,we'll have the twelfth hour).

Danielle Darrieux shines in her part of a shameless posh lady ,who is always thinking straight ,in spite of her crimes ,who remains "true to herself" and who thinks she has God on her side.The excellent supporting cast includes Paul Meurisse as a not-so-smart gangster and Alberto Sordi whose French is perfect.There are plenty of good lines till the very end when God (or Jupiter more like)flows into a terrible rage.

Strychnine And Chanel

[writers_reign · 8/10 · 4 August 2010]

Ironically this goes one better than Arsenic and Old Lace by going one less so that instead of TWO Old ladies cutting off the oxygen supply to a succession of men and then prevailing upon their brother who is one piccolo short of a symphony orchestra to take care of the disposal we have one gorgeous forty year old carrying out the same self-appointed task with the help of a would-be paramour. For good measure there is a gangster element in both movies. Even Godard and Truffaut combined couldn't make a bad movie that top-billed Danielle Darrieux (though they'd have a damned good try) and this is, in fact, a small gem. Noel Noel who helps Darrieux and gets rid of the stiffs was a top vedette in the forties albeit domestic only and would be totally (and undeservedly) forgotten today were it not for the recent international hit Les Choristes which was a remake of La Cage aux rossignols in which Noel Noel created the part later played by Gerard Jugnot. Adding to the mix is the brilliant Paul Meurisse and Gerald Oury, destined to become a fine film director himself and sire one of French Cinema's finest current writer-directors in the shape of Daniel Thompson. For trivia buffs there's a brilliant final shot, an affectionate nod to both Prevert and his screenplay for Carne's Les Visiteurs du soir. Put this one high on your shopping list.