Elevator to the Gallows
Director: Louis Malle
Year Released: 1958
Rating: 3.0
Compact crime film - with echoes of James M. Cain - about a devious wife (Jeanne Moreau) who convinces her lover to murder her husband (who also happens to be his boss), but gets stuck in the office elevator overnight; meanwhile, a local miscreant and his girlfriend steal his car and get into trouble. Works out a little too neatly at the end when the police get everything right - how likely is that to happen - but exciting nonetheless. The fact that Miles Davis did the score should excite jazz aficionados, and despite being distinctive, it doesn't interfere with the goings-on (which could also be said about Ellington's work on Anatomy of a Murder, for instance).
