''Voyage Without Hope'' (French: ''Voyage sans espoir'') is a 1943 French

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Christian-Jaque Christian-Jaque (byname of Christian Maudet; 4 September 1904 – 8 July 1994) was a French filmmaker. From 1954 to 1959, he was married to actress Martine Carol, who starred in several of his films, including ''Lucrèce Borgia'' (1953), ''M ...

and starring

Simone Renant Simone Renant (19 March 1911 – 29 March 2004) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1934 and 1983. She was born in Amiens, France and died in Garches, France. Partial filmography * ''La folle nuit'' (1932) * ' ...

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

and Paul Bernard. It is a remake of the 1931 film '' The Lovers of Midnight''. It was shot at the

Saint-Maurice Studios Saint-Maurice is the name or part of the name of places. It refers to the legendary Saint Maurice. Places Canada * Saint-Maurice (Lower Canada electoral district), a constituency 1792–1838 * Saint Maurice (Province of Canada electoral distri ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Robert Gys Robert Gys (1901–1977) was a French art director.O'Shaughnessy p.238 Selected filmography * '' Imperial Violets'' (1924) * '' The Phantom of the Moulin Rouge'' (1925) * ''Miss Europe'' (1930) * ''Dance Hall'' (1931) * '' The Dream'' (1931) * '' ...

. It has been classified as a

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

with an opening that recalls the pre-war poetic realist film '' The Human Beast''.Walker-Morrison p.35

Synopsis

bank clerk A bank teller (often abbreviated to simply teller) is an employee of a bank whose responsibilities include the handling of customer cash and negotiable instruments. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier or customer representative. T ...

steals money and plans to run off to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on a freighter. On the train to the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

he encounters a criminal just released from prison who takes him for a naïve, wealthy young man and persuades his old girlfriend,

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

Marie-Ange, to seduce him. However, she falls in love with the essentially honest boy and as the net closes in against him from both the criminals and the law she ultimately sacrifices herself for him.

Cast

as Marie-Ange *

as Alain Ginestier * Paul Bernard as Pierre Gohelle *

Jean Brochard Jean Brochard (; 12 March 1893 – 17 June 1972) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1933 and 1966. Selected filmography * '' A Man's Neck'' (1933) - Petit rôle (uncredited) * ''Boubouroche'' (1933) * '' ...

as Inspector Chapelin *

Louis Salou Louis Vincent Goulven Salou (23 April 1902 – 12 October 1948) was a French stage and film actor. Louis was born in Oissel and died in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Paris. Selected filmography * '' White Nights in Saint Petersburg'' (1938) * ''Firs ...

as Inspector Sorbier * Ky Duyen as Li-Fang * Lucien Coëdel as Philippe Dejanin *

Marcel Maupi Marcel Maupi, stage name of Marcel Louis Alexandre Barberin or Maupi, (6 November 1881, Marseille – 4 January 1949, Antibes) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Dance Hall'' (1931) * '' Marius'' (1931) * '' Fanny'' (1932) * '' The Iron ...

as Le barman * Clary Monthal as Laura - l'habilleuse

References

Bibliography

*Walker-Morrison, Deborah. ''Classic French Noir: Gender and the Cinema of Fatal Desire''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.

External links

* 1943 films French drama films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Christian-Jaque French black-and-white films Remakes of French films 1943 drama films 1940s French films Films shot at Saint-Maurice Studios Films scored by Jean Marion Films with screenplays by Pierre Mac Orlan {{1940s-France-film-stub