Reviews

For many years M. Hire has lived a recluse's existence in a seedy Paris lodging house. He has no friends, receives no letters, goes out only to his office or to the cinema. One evening, a brutal killing occurs nearby. A young girl is murdered and her handbag is snatched. When Hire's landlady -- a shrill busybody and gossip - sees a towel in Hire's room, covered with blood from a shaving cut, she jumps to the wrong conclusion and suspects him of the murder. And when she recalls that very late during the night of the crime, she had to pull the cord by her bed to let someone into the house, she is doubly convinced of Hire's guilt. Hardly able to suppress her excitement and self-importance she informs the police of her suspicions. In his isolation, Hire had been in the habit of watching through his window into the room of another occupant of the house, Alice, who helps the concierge with the work. And so when the good-looking young woman, consumed by curiosity, pushes her way into his room on the pretext of delivering an envelope to him, Hire finds it impossible to refuse her admittance. As soon as she sees the arrangement of his room, Alice realizes that Hire can see into her room. In panic, she begins to seduce the lonely man. She tells him that the man he must have seen visiting her, often late at night, is just a casual lover. And, certain that Hire saw the lover Emile visit her the night of the murder and give her the victim's handbag to hide, Alice confesses that Emile is indeed the real killer. She says both she and Hire are in danger for Emile is violent and will kill them both if they talk. Hire is now thoroughly infatuated with Alice and convinced that she loves him. And so when he receives a summons from the police for questioning, he resolves to take Alice away with him. Afterwards he will send a letter to the authorities telling them that Emile is the murderer. He does not know that he, himself, is the prime suspect. But the police have uncovered the prison record which turned Hire into a recluse, and the net is closing around him. Only one piece of substantial evidence is needed to convict him. To keep him quiet and happy, Alice agrees to go away with Hire and, while he is out, she plants the handbag in his room. Now the police follow him on his final errands, see him go to a jeweller's to buy a ring, and then to the railroad station where, just before the arrival of the train which will carry him and Alice away to Venice, he mails a letter. But the train comes -- and goes -- and bewildered, he wanders back to the house in search of Alice, who tries to hide from him. The truth about Alice's deceit slowly sinks into his consciousness. Then, pursued by the police, while a mob of avid, scandal hungry neighbours surround him, he rushes distractedly upstairs, onto the roof, and falls to his death.

My sister and I saw this film for the first time a few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon on Nine Gem. We didn't know of it, although we have long been admirers of Marius Goring. We were both in floods of tears at the end and immediately ordered the DVD and I have watched it many times since it arrived.

So Little Time is the moving WWII tale of a 20 year-old girl (Maria Schell) in occupied Belgium who falls in love with 45 year-old German commandant (Marius Goring). The film is based on the novel 'I Am Not A Heroine' by Noelle Henry. I would love to to get a copy of the book but I think it is out of print.

The film was made at Elstree but a unit went out to Belgium to film various outdoor scenes. The film unit based themselves in the town of Leau, a small town with a population of 2,000 about 45 miles east of Brussels. Some of the scenes were at the Château de Sterrebeek, just outside Brussels, which stood in for the Château de Malvines in the film. The Château de Sterrebeek, built in 1761 by Jean-Antoine Ories in a classicist style was rebuilt in 1908 by Maurice Despret in a neoclassical style. The castle and the gatehouse are protected as a monument and the entire park protected as a landscape in 1958.

Marius Goring could speak fluent German and French. I wish that I could understand German as I would love to know what von Hohensee says to that weaselly Gestapo man in the scene near the end when they bring in Phillipe de Malvines after he's captured. If anyone can speak German and has a copy of the film, I would love you to provide a translation. The DVD does not have any subtitles.

Watching the film, I was struck by similarities to 'Jane Eyre'. Bear with me. Jane and Nicole are both lonely young women without much family. Rochester and von Hohensee are both lonely men in their 40s with no family. Rochester is intrigued by the honesty of Jane's conversation and the spirituality of her drawings. von Hohensee is drawn to Nicole through their mutual love of music. When von Hohensee tells his former lover, the soprano Lotte Schönberg, that Nicole's playing fascinates him, she, of course, knows better. "I think you mean that SHE fascinates you!" He can't deny it! "Yes, I love her and she loves me, although she doesn't know it." Another scene is were he is holding Nicole in his arms and sees them both in a mirror on the wall. He asks her "Am I very ugly?" She smiles and replies "Yes, very ugly." This reminds me of the scene near the end of Jane Eyre when Mr Rochester, after being scarred and blinded, asks Jane "Am I hideous, Jane?" "Very, sir: you always were, you know."

In the scene where Nicole hears von Hohensee playing an aria from The Marriage of Figaro and comes silently into his room, I wondered why he looks so caught out when he realises that she is behind him and had heard him singing. I found the English translation of the German lyrics that he was singing. In English it means "Say, is it love, what is burning here?" No wonder he looks guilty!

I also loved the scene where Nicole's friend Gerard storms into von Hohensee's sitting room and demands a pass for himself and Paulette as they are out past the curfew. Gerard's behaviour is rude and childish but the commandant is quite deliberately arrogant and condescending in return. "In fact, M. Sainte-Foi, I don't think that you constitute any threat whatsoever. Nevertheless, do not let this encourage you to take any more liberties, or I may be compelled to remind you of your manners in the forcible way we use for schoolboys. I'm sure you would dislike a spanking from my orderly." I love it but he's obviously trying to push Nicole away.

Marius Goring said that other than the Powell Pressburger films, this one was his favourite. "A touching little film," said Goring, "my favourite apart from the Powell films. It was too soon after the war and people thought every German was a horror . . . it's timing was wrong."

I totally agree with one reviewer here when she describes Gunther as bloody sexy but not with another reviewer who said that it is the only film she had seen where Marius Goring was sexy! Watch him in 'The Man Who Watched Trains Go By' and you might change your mind! It's in colour so you can see his beautiful blue eyes and red hair.

Update 29 December 2020: I finally managed to get a copy of the novel by the Swiss author, Noélle Henry upon which this film is based from a book dealer in Germany. It's called 'Der Abend in her Oper' and was in German, so it took a few days to translate into English. It was well worth the trouble and is as moving as the film.