Judex (1963 film)

The film's plot largely follows the arc of Louis Feuillade's serial, but necessarily cuts down the number of events and characters to fit its feature-length running time.

Franju's film begins with Favraux (Michel Vitold), a corrupt banker, and his secretary Vallieres discussing an apparent blackmail note signed only "Judex" (meaning "judge" or "upholder of the law"). Favraux is puzzled because the note demands only that he return money that he has embezzled from others. He hires Cocantin (Jacques Jouanneau), a detective, to provide security at a party he will be giving to announce the engagement of his daughter Jacqueline (Édith Scob), a young widow with a daughter, to an aged but wealthy man. Another man, Pierre Kerjean (René Génin), suddenly comes in and demands aid from Favraux, for whom he had served time in prison, but Favraux has Vallieres escort him from the room.

Later, Cocantin reports that Kerjean has died after being found on the street. Favraux receives another warning from Judex, which he takes more seriously. In the meantime, though, he tells Marie Verdier (Francine Bergé), Jacqueline's governess, that he is infatuated with her and must marry her after Jacqueline's wedding. That night at the party, where everyone is masked, a mysterious guest wearing a bird's head performs magic tricks. When Favraux begins to announce the engagement, though, he collapses, apparently dead. Later, we see that Judex, who appears in a black hat and cloak, and his assistants have removed Favraux, who was only drugged, from his coffin and imprisoned him.

After Favraux's supposed funeral, Cocantin shows Jacqueline the letter from Judex, which vowed that vengeance would come to Favraux at the exact time when he died. Jacqueline wants to go to the police, but Vallieres tells her about her father's crooked past. Jacqueline renounces any money that she would inherit except for a portion for her daughter, whom she has sent off. The former governess turns out actually to be Diana Monti, head of a criminal gang, who still wants access to Favraux's fortune. Diana adopts other roles and disguises in a series of tricks and attacks to kidnap Jacqueline, who is rescued several times by Judex. Later, Diana also tries to abduct Jacqueline's daughter, but is again foiled, party through actions by the detective Cocantin and his son. Finally, Diana is isolated on a rooftop and, in a battle with a circus gymnast (Sylva Koscina) aiding the heroes, falls to her death.

At the end Judex and Jacqueline are reunited, walking on a beach as a title appears: "“In homage to Louis Feuillade, in memory of a time that was not happy: 1914.”

• Channing Pollock as Judex/Vallieres
• Édith Scob as Jacqueline
• Francine Bergé as Diana
• Théo Sarapo as Morales
• Sylva Koscina as Daisy
• René Génin as Pierre Kerjean
• Michel Vitold as the Banker Favraux

Judex was released on December 4, 1963, in France.[1] The general reception for the French critics of Judex was fairly positive, with most critics applauded the homage to the original silent film serial while noting the problems that arose when with the over-conscientious approach to style and atmosphere.[8] A critic from L'Express wrote that the film was "pure entertainment, pure charm, a total success".[9][10] while another from Les Nouvelles littéraires called the film's pacing "lazy" and the film direction "nonchalant, not to say laborious".[8] Claude Mauriac of Le Figaro littéraire wrote that the film did not let the audience relate to the action as it was too caught up attracting them to the "plastic beauty" of the film.[8] The film opened up to generally positive review in the United States as well. Variety wrote a positive review stating that the film was "...a successful homage to the French film serials of the early, silent days...[the film] does not send up this form of pic but rather captures its essential simplicity, adventurousness and innocence."[11] Time also wrote a positive review stating "Judex has too much low-key charm and seriousness to be wildly funny, but Director Franju seems content to woo a minority taste."[12] The New York Times wrote a negative review, stating that Judex "suffers from several afflictions, one of which is ambiguity. It is hard to tell whether Georges Franju, who made it, wants us to laugh at it or take it seriously."[13]

Modern reception has been generally positive. Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader wrote that Judex was "one of the better features of [Franju's] middle period".[14] Time Out wrote that the film is "superbly elegant" and an "enjoyable tribute to the adventure fantasies of Louis Feuillade".[15]

A Region 2 release of Judex was released on August 25, 2008, by Eureka in their Masters of Cinema series.[16] This release also included the 1973 film Nuits Rouges also directed by Georges Franju.[16]

• Judex at AllMovie
• Judex at IMDb
• Judex at Rotten Tomatoes
• Judex at the TCM Movie Database
• The Secret Heart of Judex an essay by Geoffrey O’Brien at the Criterion Collection