Pièges

A likeable policier, with Déa as a taxi-dancer persuaded by the police to act as a decoy when a friend falls victim to a serial killer who snares his prey through lonely hearts ads. Her adventures while responding to likely ads are a trifle too picaresque (they include taking down a gang of white slavers), but they do hang together in mood and manner until Chevalier turns up as romantic lead and chief suspect: in effect playing himself with repellent complacency, indulged with two trademark songs, he very nearly destroys the ambience. At its best, though, the film captures the same sense of brooding menace as Siodmak's later work in film noir, with terrific performances from Stroheim (as a pathetically batty couturier, ruined by a rival, who stages fashion shows for imaginary audiences) and Pierre Renoir (as the enigmatic éminence grise behind Chevalier's business interests).