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Purple Noon
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Wikipedia article
'Purple Noon' (; ; also known as 'Full Sun', 'Blazing Sun', 'Lust for Evil', and 'Talented Mr. Ripley') is a 1960 crime thriller film directed by Ren Clment, loosely based on the 1955 novel 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' by Patricia Highsmith. The French/Italian international co-production stars Alain Delon in his first major film, along with Maurice Ronet (as Philippe Greenleaf) and Marie Lafort (as Marge); Billy Kearns (an expatriate American actor well-liked in France)[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/04/obituaries/bill-kearns-69-actor-seen-in-french-films.html "Obituary: Bill Kearns, 69, Actor Seen in French Films"], 'The New York Times', 4 December 1992 plays Greenleaf's friend Freddy Miles, and Romy Schneider appears briefly in an uncredited role as Freddie Miles' companion. The film, principally in French, contains brief sequences in Italian and English.
Screenwriter Paul Ggauff wrote a variation on the same story in 1968 when he worked on 'Les biches' for Claude Chabrol. Highsmith's source novel was adapted again in 1999 under the original title, 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'.
Plot
The American Tom Ripley (Alain Delon) has been sent to Italy to persuade the wealthy Philippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet) to return to San Francisco and take over his father's business. Philippe intends to do no such thing and the impoverished Tom enjoys living a life of luxury, so the two men essentially spend money all day and carouse all night. Tom is fixated on Philippe and his girlfriend, Marge (Marie Lafort), and covets the other man's life. Philippe eventually grows bored with Ripley's fawning and becomes cruel and abusive to him. The final straw is when, during a yachting trip, Philippe strands Tom in the dinghy and leaves him to lie in the sun for hours.
Back on board, Tom hatches a plan to kill Philippe and steal his identity. First, he leaves evidence of Philippe's philandering for an outraged Marge to find. After Marge goes ashore, Philippe confronts Tom, who admits his plan quite casually. Philippe, believing it to be a joke, plays along and asks Tom for the plan's details. Suddenly frightened, Philippe offers Tom a substantial sum to leave him and Marge alone, but Tom states that he can obtain this sum anyway and far more. At last, pretending to accept his offer, Tom stabs Philippe as the latter screams Marge's name. He casts the body overboard and returns to port.
Upon returning to shore, Tom informs Marge that Philippe has decided to stay behind. He then goes travelling around Italy using Philippe's name and bank account, flawlessly mimicking his voice and mannerisms; in effect, Tom has 'become' Philippe, even affixing his own photo, with seal, in Philippe's passport. He rents a large suite in a Rome hotel.
When Philippe's friend, Freddie Miles (Billy Kearns), comes to the hotel to see Philippe and begins to suspect the truth, Tom murders him as well. Freddie's body is soon found and the Italian police become involved. Tom continues his charade, switching between his identity and Philippe's, depending on what the situation demands. After carrying out an elaborate scheme to implicate Philippe in Freddie's murder, Tom forges a suicide note and a will, leaving the Greenleaf fortune to Marge.
Tom survives a long string of close shaves, throwing the Italian police off his trail and seemingly having outwitted everyone. He even succeeds in seducing Marge, with whom he begins openly cohabiting. When Philippe's yacht is being pulled out of the water for inspection by a buyer, his canvas-wrapped body is found attached to the boat because the anchor cable it was wrapped in had become tangled around the propeller. The film ends with Tom being unknowingly called toward the police.
Cast
* Alain Delon as Tom Ripley
* Maurice Ronet as Philippe Greenleaf
* Marie Lafort as Marge Duval
* Erno Crisa as Inspector Riccordi
* Billy Kearns as Freddy Miles
* Frank Latimore as O'Brien
* Elvire Popesco as Madame Popova
* Nicolas Petrov as Boris the dancer
* Ave Ninchi as Signora Gianna, landlady in Rome
* Lily Romanelli as Greenleaf's Housekeeper in Mongibello
* Nerio Bernardi as the Ship's Agency Director
* as The Belgian Lady
* Paul Muller as The Blind Man (uncredited)
* Ren Clment as a servant (uncredited cameo appearance)
* Romy Schneider as Freddy's companion (uncredited cameo appearance; Schneider was Delon's girlfriend at that time)
Production
Delon was cast after the director saw him in 'Women Are Weak' (1959)."New Dream for Alain Delon", Thomas, Kevin. 'Los Angeles Times', 18 December 1965, p. a12.
Reception
'Purple Noon' was lauded by critics, and made Delon a star. In 1962, Clment and Paul Ggauff won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Foreign Film Screenplay. It enjoys a loyal cult following even today, with fans including film director Martin Scorsese.
Roger Ebert gave 'Purple Noon' three stars (compared to the four-star review he gave to the 1999 version[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991224/REVIEWS/912240305/1023 "'The Talented Mr. Ripley' :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews"]. 'Chicago Sun-Times'. Retrieved 2012-02-22.), writing that "the best thing about the film is the way the plot devises a way for Ripley to create a perfect cover-up", but criticized the "less than satisfactory ending", feeling that "'Purple Noon' ends as it does only because Clement doesn't have Highsmith's iron nerve".[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19960703/REVIEWS/607030303/1023 "'Purple Noon', rogerebert.com Reviews"]. 'Chicago Sun-Times'. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
James Berardinelli rated 'Purple Noon' higher than 'The Talented Mr. Ripley', giving it a four-star review (compared to two and a half stars for 'The Talented Mr. Ripley').[http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/t/talented.html "'The Talented Mr. Ripley' A Film Review by James Berardinelli"] Berardinelli praised Delon's acting, saying that "Tom is fascinating because Delon makes him so" and also complimented the film for "expert camerawork and crisp direction."[http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/p/purple.html "'Purple Noon' ('Plein Soleil') A Film Review by James Berardinelli"]. Berardinelli placed 'Purple Noon' on his All-Time 100 list and compared it to the 1999 film: "The remake went back to the source material, Patricia Highsmith's 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'. The result, while arguably truer to the events of Highsmith's book, is vastly inferior. To say it suffers by comparison to 'Purple Noon' is an understatement. Almost every aspect of Rene Clement's 1960 motion picture is superior to that of Minghella's 1999 version, from the cinematography to the acting to the screenplay. Matt Damon might make a credible Tom Ripley but only for those who never experienced Alain Delon's portrayal."[http://preview.reelviews.net/top100/86.html "James Berardinelli Top 100: #86: 'Purple Noon'"]. 'ReelViews.net'. Retrieved 2012-02-22. Nandini Ramnath wrote for Scroll.in, "The definitive portrayal of crime novelist Patricia Highsmith's most enduring creation was as early as 1960. Damon and Hopper come close to conveying the ruthlessness and ambition of Tom Ripley, but Delon effortless captures his mystique."
Highsmith's opinion of the film was mixed. She felt that Alain Delon was "excellent" in the role of Tom Ripley[http://www.geraldpeary.com/interviews/ghi/highsmith.html Interview with Patricia Highsmith] by Gerald Peary and described the film overall as "very beautiful to the eye and interesting for the intellect", but criticized the ending in which it is implied that Ripley is to be caught by the police: "[I]t was a terrible concession to so-called public morality that the criminal had to be caught."
Restoration and re-release
In 2012 StudioCanal funded a restoration of the movie by the laboratory, a restoration being all the more warranted as part of the film's atmosphere is due to the sun-drenched scenes mentioned in the film's original title. The restored version was to be shown at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival as part of an homage to Delon's career, prior to re-release in France at least.
On 4 December 2012, The Criterion Collection released the high-definition digital restoration of 'Purple Noon' on Blu-ray and DVD. Special features include an interview with Ren Clment scholar and author Denitza Bantcheva, archival interviews with Alain Delon and Patricia Highsmith, the film's original English-language trailer, a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Geoffrey O'Brien and excerpts from a 1981 interview with Clment.[http://www.criterion.com/films/27810-purple-noon 'Purple Noon'], The Criterion Collection The film has also been released on Blu-ray in the UK and Germany (Studiocanal, 2013), and Japan (Kinokuniya, 2011).
References
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