The Passion of Slow Fire

The Passion of Slow Fire is a 1961 French crime film directed by Édouard Molinaro and starring Jean Desailly and based on the novel La mort de Belle by Georges Simenon.

Plot

Stéphane Blanchon lives a quiet life in Switzerland with his wife, Christine, until a young American boarder named Belle, who was living with them, is found murdered.

Cast

Jean Desailly as Stéphane Blanchon
Alexandra Stewart as Belle Shermann
Yves Robert as Le barman du little Cottage / Bartender
Yvette Etiévant as Nina Graff - la secrétaire du juge / Judge's Secretary
Jacques Monod as Le juge d'instruction Beckman / Judge Beckman
Gabriel Gobin as Le sergent de police Ruchet
Marc Cassot as Le commissaire Georges Dalcroze / Police Officer
Louisa Colpeyn as Lorraine Shermann - la mère de Belle / Belle's Mother
Suzanne Courtal as Madame Pidoux
George Cusin as Monsieur Genet - le directeur du collège
Jacques Hilling as Le gendarme Cristever
Lucien Hubert as Pidoux
Christine Lude as Le docteur Clair
Charles Nissar as Himself
Georges Pierre as Himself
Jacques Pierre as Philippe Berthé / Belle's Admirer
Anne Valon as Himself
Van Doude as Le professeur Lewis / Psychiatrist
Monique Mélinand as Christine Blanchon
Maurice Teynac as L'ivrogne / Stephane's Friend

Critical reception

The New York Times called it "an elegantly comprehensive and persuasive movie version of a Georges Simenon novel" and "concise, introspective drama," and added that "the fascination of the impeccable acting of a first-rate cast, headed by Jean Desailly, is the exquisitely restrained flow and fusion of the incidents, as the protagonist finds his soul stripped bare." The reviewer also praised "director Edouard Molinaro's austere pacing" and wrote that "the adaptation by Jean Anouilh, the playwright, is so visual that it absorbs some brief flashbacks and the protagonist's occasional narration like a sponge." TV Guide described it as "an entertaining crime drama from a novel by the masterful Georges Simenon."