MovieChat Forums > 13 Rue Madeleine (1947) Discussion > Incredibly inane movie

Incredibly inane movie

posted 15 years ago by purplerustling
16 replies | jump to latest

This film is filled with so many cliche's where to begin?

I thought it was interesting that in two scene where a nazi was shot it took about 8 or shots to kill them. One scene where Cagney is hiding in the brush he jumps out, grabs the gun off the ground and shoots the nearest German at least 6 or more times, depending on which gun he was using (see goofs) and then the woman in the small house shoots the German at least 9 times not thinking that she may need the other bullets for the other Germans??

Pure Hollywood propaganda!

Oh, at the end where we listen to James Gagney getting whipped for about five minutes we finally see him and he's has one scar on his chest.

[–] gregrchstr 15 years ago

I thought it was a very interesting movie with a fine cast. I don't watch films to pick them apart, I watch to be entertained.

[–] purplerustling 15 years ago

But one of the purposes of this site is to pick films apart.

I too like to be entertained but sometimes the mistakes, bloopers, huge gaps in logic, bad acting, etc. etc. are too much to bear and thus you come here to voice your opinion.

But I do thank you for not being rude, obnoxious and just stating your opinion.

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 14 years ago

I enjoy picking and bitching and excoriating and praising. These things are the American way. I learned them to a fine point in catholic schools.

Sacred cows make delicious hamburgers.

[–] vpilutis 14 years ago

You people have to understand something.
Back then they couldn't show much blood or torure

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jeffandsarah-1 14 years ago

Not only that it took a load of bullets from low calibre rifles and guns to inflict a death wound. Not like todays high powered weapons that basically can blow you apart. Back then naughty soldiers used to file the bullet to make it flip end over end to increase stopping power, then against the rules of war.
Maybe you watch too many modern hollywood films.

[–] movies789 9 years ago

"Back then naughty soldiers used to file the bullet to make it flip end over end to increase stopping power"

Bullets don't flip end over end, no matter how they're filed. The barrel's rifling makes them spin. A bullet can't spin and flip end over end.

[–] morganseer 12 years ago

But scars were ok, to my best knowledge.

[–] franzkabuki 12 years ago

"I watch it to be entertaining".

That´s the problem - it´s not particularly entertaining at any point as suspense is never allowed to develop and none of the action stuff is ever effective. A very by-the-numbers, dry, bloodless affair (and I´m not talking about Cagney´s fleshwounds). Out of the 3 Hathaway´s "semi-documentary" style films I´ve seen - The House On The 92nd Street, Call Northside 777 and this - 13 Rue is quite clearly the weakest and also feels the least as if it had anything to do with real life. 5,5-6/10.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] fixer-768-2160 14 years ago

Cliches, huh?

Well, this movie is 64 years old. It's one of the movies that CREATED the cliches in the first place. It's not a cliche until it's been done over and over and over and over. In its day, I imagine 13 Rue Madeleine was rather breathtaking -- peeling the shroud away from bits of history we now regard as pedestrian.

Definitely interesting, too, to see the young faces of E.G. Marshall, Red Buttons and Karl Malden before they were big stars. Even Sam Jaffe hadn't yet acquired that mad Dr. Zorba look.

[–] thepixinator 11 years ago

"Well, this movie is 64 years old. It's one of the movies that CREATED the cliches i-n the first place. It's not a cliche until it's been done over and over and over and over. In its day, I imagine 13 Rue Madeleine was rather breathtaking" ...fixer-768-2160 (is that your spy name?)

Thanks for saying what I was thinking. I just watched this for the first time, and it made me think about my days as a 24 fan while it was on prime time t.v. I never missed an episode, and although gratuitous violence usually bothers me, I loved watching all the dastardly deeds done by heroes and villains on 24. It hit me that 13 Rue de Madelaine is where the stealthy silent kills, cold emotionless missions and naked torture got their start! If anything, ALL of our modern war/crime/suspense/mystery/ films are cliched, and certainly not this one.

I wish I could see some publicity from 1947 so I could see how the depictions of violence were received. I'm going to go look around on imdb to see what I could find out.

The documentary-style film making trend was fortunately brief...it definitely took me longer to get into the story since the film started out like a factory training video. But once I got into it, I couldn't help thinking how modern it seemed!

A life lived in fear is a life half-lived

... Strictly Ballroom

[–] Jason_Radley 12 years ago

The Brits did a number of agents-behind enemy-lines films superior to this. Mybe the Americans were feeling left out.

[–] Garyinnes164 12 years ago

Well, Purple . . . you feel that the Nazi's are shot too many times?

Haven't you heard the old saying . . . "Anything worth doing is worth doing WELL."

Gary in Arizona

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] den_quixote 11 years ago

If you watch the movie again you will see that Cagney was shooting at his nemesis Richard Conte who had grabbed another soldier to use as a shield. It is understandable if he fired until he ran out in an effort to kill Conte. In the case of the woman she too was making sure she killed someone as her death was a certainty and she probably did not want to be taken alive.

As for as the lack of blood etc. after the torture, I agree it was a surprise, but he was not being beaten with a whip but by a truncheon which may break bones but is not likely to draw blood if used in different spots.

[–] gribfritz2 11 years ago

Since when is there a cliche that you need to shoot the enemy a million times to kill him? Isn't the cliche that good guys have perfect aim and immediately kill bad guys?

Also, let's not overlook that Cagney is trying to kill Conte while Conte is using one of his own comrades as a human shield. It didn't take 6 shots to kill the Nazi. He shot 6 times trying to hit Conte. Huge difference.

As for Anabella, yes, it was silly of her to shoot the same person repeatedly. Especially since he seemed to die after the first shot. However, the only film cliche served here is that women are terrible with firearms and in pressure situations. I've still never heard of the cliche that people take 100 shots to die or people continually shoot dead bodies.

As for Cagney's one "scar" on his chest, I'm not sure why you would have a "scar" if you were freshly whipped. Anyway, as for fresh injuries, he is cut over his eye, his mouth is bleeding, multiple marks on the one arm we can see, and what look to be at least 3 lashes on his chest. Let's not even mention the fact that if he was slumped over, the whip would have hit his back and he could have received a plethora of lashes there. I agree, the makeup dept could have done a better job making the wounds look more whiplike, but it in no way looks like there is only one mark on him.