Just watched it again

I watched it last night, for probably the fourth time, and was bowled over by the acting (NOT the direction, but later for that). The long sequence at Panama's bar is a knockout: the hostility between Gabin and Le Vigan which is resolved quickly, the bar owner's unflappable mien even in a gunfight, Michèle Morgan's eternal youthfulness in that plastic raincoat and beret. Also I loved Michel Simon's careful blend of hypocrisy and reasonableness: you don't think he is such a monster until the last ten minutes, when the truth comes out.

It's Carné's direction that I don't like: the artificiality of the decors, the constant fake mists (I've been to Le Havre, it is not that foggy). Zabel's gift shop looks very over-decorated to me; almost like being at Versailles when a provincial small shop is wanted. Jaubert's music is lovely, though.