The will of Dr. Cordelier

Movie
German title	The will of Dr. Cordelier
Original title	Le testament du Docteur Cordelier
Country of production	France
original language	French
Publishing year	1959
length	95 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Jean Renoir
script	Jean Renoir
production	Jean Renoir
music	Joseph Kosma
camera	Georges Leclerc
cut	Renée Lichtig
occupation
Jean-Louis Barrault : Dr. Cordelier / Opals Teddy Bilis : Joly, the notary Michel Vitold : Dr. Lucien Severin Jean Topart : Desiré, the servant Micheline Gary : Marguerite Jacques Dannoville : Commissioner Lardout André Certes : Inspector Salbris Jean-Louis Granval : Hotel Manager Jacqueline Morane : Silly Ghislaine Dumont : Suzy Madeleine Marion : Juliette Didier d´Yd : Georges Primerose Perret : Mary Gaston Modot : Blaise Jaque Catelain : Ambassador Sylviane Margollé : girls Jean Renoir : moderator

The will of Dr. Cordelier is a 1959 in France produced horror film in black and white , of the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted. The roles of the doctor and his alter ego are taken over by Dr. Cordelier and Opals. The film was produced for French television.

It should be emphasized that Barrault hardly has any make-up when he mimes the villain Opale: only cheeks padded with rubber balls and a disheveled hairstyle.

action

Like his literary role model, Dr. Cordelier in his Paris laboratory for a drug to uncover the true nature of a person. He tries the drug on himself and becomes Opale, a rampant villain with no conscience. He visits Paris mostly at night. He mocks and injures a man with crutches, beats up a girl in the street and scares his colleague Dr. Severin to death. Cordelier is taking a liking to opals more and more. However, when he kills a passerby and thus commits a murder , he tries to get away from him. But it is too late and he is judging himself .

Reviews

“For Renoir, the horror story, developed with grim humor, was above all an experimental film in terms of acting. He shot closed scenes as a unit and recorded them simultaneously with up to eight cameras. It is not least this method that is responsible for Barrault's extraordinary acting presence. "

- Lexicon of international film

“What is interesting and new about this version is Renoir's masterly effort by the actor Jean-Louis Barrault, who recommended himself for the role because of his contrasting qualities as a dry, cold, rigid actor and a light, airy, gestural mime. The transformation is no longer the result of a more or less skilful mask, but of a real, physical change in two different states of matter [...] Incidentally, by breaking away from the letters of Stevenson's story, Renoir succeeded in making another film, which is closer to the spirit of the writer than any other. "

- Lexicon of horror films : Bazin, Jean Renoir

“A fleetingly modernized copy of a story by Stevenson. Despite the well-cast leading role, an insignificant work. "

- Protestant film observer

literature

• Robert Louis Stevenson : The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde); Wiesbaden 1955

Web links

• The will of Dr. Cordelier in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• The will of Dr. Cordelier in the online film database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The will of Dr. Cordelier. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .  
2. ↑ cf. Ronald M. Hahn and Volker Jansen: Lexicon of Horror Films , Bastei-Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1989, ISBN 3-404-13175-4
3. ↑ Ev. Munich Press Association, Review No. 314/1961