Elevator to the Gallows
Elevator to the Gallows is a
Louis Malle film of
1958. In French it is known as
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud. In the UK it is normally translated as
Lift to the Scaffold.
A
French language classic, it stars
Jeanne Moreau and
Maurice Ronet.
The score by
Miles Davis is an important element.
The central characters, a pair of lovers, plan the perfect crime - the murder of the woman's husband. The murderer abseils down the office block to kill the husband in his office without being seen, but on going to his car, realises that he has left the rope dangling outside the building. Leaving his expensive car unlocked, he returns to remove the evidence, but after doing so becomes trapped in the lift as the building closes down for the weekend. In the meantime, the car is stolen by a young couple.
Much of the suspense comes from the man's attempt to escape from the lift. Although he succeeds, the murder plot is eventually discovered through photographs taken by the young couple with the camera they find in his car.
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Criterion Collection essay by Terrence Rafferty
