''Personal Column'' (french: Pièges) is a 1939 French

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Robert Siodmak Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German film director who also worked in the United States. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for a series of films noirs he made in the 1940s, such as '' The Killers'' (19 ...

and starring

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", "Valentine", " Louise", "Mimi", and "Thank Heav ...

Pierre Renoir Pierre Renoir (March 21, 1885 – March 11, 1952) was a French stage and film actor. He was the son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and elder brother of the film director Jean Renoir. He is also noted for being the first ac ...

Marie Déa Marie Déa (born Odette Alice Marie Deupès 17 May 1912 – 1 March 1992) was a French actress. She appeared in more than 50 films from 1939 to 1983. She was married to the actor Lucien Nat. Selected filmography External links * ...

and Erich von Stroheim. It was shot at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont making films there. A second studio was added to the original ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Maurice Colasson and

Georges Wakhévitch Georges Wakhévitch (russian: Георгий Леонидович Вахевич; Georgy Leonidovich Vakhevich; August 18, 1907 in Odessa, Russian Empire – February 11, 1984 in Paris) was a Russian-born French art director. The son of a naval ...

. ''

Lured ''Lured'' is a 1947 film noir directed by Douglas Sirk and starring George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn, and Boris Karloff. The film is a remake of Robert Siodmak's 1939 French film '' Pièges'' (titled ''Personal Column'' in the United ...

'', an American re-make, directed by

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left f ...

and starring

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

, was released in 1947.

Plot

After one of her fellow

taxi dancer A taxi dancer is a paid dance partner in a partner dance. Taxi dancers are hired to dance with their customers on a dance-by-dance basis. When taxi dancing first appeared in taxi-dance halls during the early 20th century in the United States, mal ...

s is murdered by an unknown man whom she met through a personal column ad, Adrienne Charpentier is recruited by the police to answer a series of similar adverts to try to track down the killer. She meets and falls in love with the charming nightclub owner and womanizer Robert Fleury, but clues begin to appear that suggest that it is he who is the murderer.

Partial cast

as Robert Fleury *

as Adrienne Charpentier, la journaliste/the newspaper woman *

as Brémontier * Erich von Stroheim as Pears, l'ex-couturier/the former fashion designer * André Brunot as Ténier, l'inspecteur en chef/the chief inspector *

Jacques Varennes Jacques Varennes (6 September 1894 – 8 November 1958) was a French film actor who appeared in around seventy films during his career. He appeared in Maurice Tourneur's 1938 historical film '' The Patriot''.Waldman p.156 Selected filmography * ...

as Maxime * Henri Bry as Oglou Vacapoulos * Catherine Farel as Lucie Baral * Madeleine Geoffroy as Valérie *

Milly Mathis Milly Mathis (September 8, 1901 – March 30, 1965) was a French actress who appeared in more than 100 films during her career. Born on September 8, 1901, as Emilienne Pauline Tomasini in Marseilles, France, she made her film debut with a small, ...

as Rose *

Jean Témerson Jean Témerson (1898–1956) was a French actor. Selected filmography * '' The Lover of Madame Vidal'' (1936) - Guillaume - le domestique * '' With a Smile'' (1936) - Cam (uncredited) * '' Pépé le Moko'' (1937) - Gravère * ''Blanchette'' (1 ...

as Batol, un inspecteur/an inspector *

Mady Berry Mady Berry (14 October 1887 – 18 January 1965) was a French stage and film actress.Waldman p.146 Selected filmography * ''Gloria'' (1931) * '' All That's Not Worth Love'' (1931) * '' Moon Over Morocco'' (1931) * '' The Girl and the Boy'' (1931 ...

as Sidonie, la cuisinière/the cook *

Pierre Magnier Pierre Frédéric Magnier (February 22, 1869 - October 15, 1959) was a French actor who began on the stage in the 1890s and became a prominent silent film actor in France. He was the second actor to portray ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' in any film in ...

as l'homme d'affaires/the businessman * André Numès Fils as le spectateur barbu/the bearded bystander *

Raymond Rognoni Raymond Rognoni (Paris, 16 August 1892 – Paris, 26 September 1965) was a French actor and comedian. He worked in the theatre and in film (''Sylvie et le fantôme'', ''Les Enfants du Paradis''), sometimes credited as Rognoni. Biography Rognoni wa ...

as un inspecteur de police/a police inspector *

Pierre Labry Pierre Labry (1885–1948) was a French stage and film actor.Capua p.122 He was active in the French film industry between 1920 and 1948, appearing in more than a hundred films. Selected filmography * ''La croisade'' (1920) * ''Gigolette'' (1921 ...

as Le danseur

Bibliography

* Alpi, Deborah Lazaroff. ''Robert Siodmak: A Biography''. McFarland, 1998.

External links

* 1930s thriller films French crime drama films 1939 crime drama films Films directed by Robert Siodmak Films scored by Michel Michelet 1939 films 1930s French-language films Films set in Paris French black-and-white films Films shot at Joinville Studios 1930s French films {{1930s-France-film-stub

Plot

Partial cast

Bibliography

See also

External links