IMDb RATING
7.7/10
9.1K
YOUR RATING
A military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a foggy, French port city.A military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a foggy, French port city.A military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a foggy, French port city.
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
9.1K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Pierre Mac Orlan(novel)
- Jacques Prévert(scenario and dialogue)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Pierre Mac Orlan(novel)
- Jacques Prévert(scenario and dialogue)
- Stars
- Awards
- 6 wins & 1 nomination
Videos1
Édouard Delmont
- Panamaas Panama
- (as Delmont)
Raymond Aimos
- Quart Vittelas Quart Vittel
- (as Aimos)
Robert Le Vigan
- Le peintreas Le peintre
- (as Le Vigan)
René Génin
- Le docteuras Le docteur
- (as Genin)
Marcel Pérès
- Le chauffeuras Le chauffeur
- (as Perez)
Léo Malet
- Soldieras Soldier
- (uncredited)
Raphaël
- Un compliceas Un complice
- (uncredited)
Gaby Wagner
- Compliceas Complice
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Pierre Mac Orlan(novel)
- Jacques Prévert(scenario and dialogue)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Life's a rotten business, says Jean, a deserter who arrives at night in Le Havre, looking to leave the country. He lucks into civilian clothes, a little bit of money, a passport, and a dog, and he also meets Nelly, a 17-year-old who's grown up too fast. She's the object of lust of men: including a boyfriend Maurice, her putative protector Zabel, and Lucien, a local hood. Jean falls for her, faces down Lucien, and gives her courage to stand on her own feet. A ship is leaving for Venezuela; can at least one of them be on it, or is that just a dream? —<jhailey@hotmail.com>
- Taglines
- Tender...frankly adult. Filled with almost every emotion known to man
- Genres
- Certificate
- Not Rated
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaSome may notice that the Le Havre setting, while realistic, seems to have a slightly strange perspective. This is because the streets were constructed with a "false perspective" technique: the buildings were gradually scaled down in size the farther they go into the background; when shot with the proper camera lens, such a street will seem to stretch away from the camera up to four times longer than it actually does.
- GoofsWhen Jean and Nelly have their picture taken, they are standing close together. After a brief cut to the photographer who instructs them not to move anymore, there is a clear gap between them.
- Quotes
Quart Vittel: What could be simpler than a tree?
Le peintre: A tree. But when I paint one, it sets everyone on edge. It's because there's someone or something hidden behind that tree. I can't help painting what's hidden behind things. To me a swimmer is already a drowned man.
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: La monnaie de l'absolu (1999)
Top review
hauntingly sad French masterpiece
I've just seen Port of Shadows for the first time in my life, and I must say I really liked it. I'm already a great admirer of old black & white pictures, and I enjoyed The Great Illusion as well. This one is rather different from Illusion, though from the same era and also with Jean Gabin as the quintessential Frenchman. It's hauntingly sad, quietly emotional, and even if it's a bit dated in some places (the pathetic hood played by Brasseur) it still manages to creep up on you and leaves you absorbed with the motifs of human loneliness and the not unreasonable, but ultimately impossible human dream of happiness. So it's not a laugh-riot, and you don't leave the cinema with a happy feeling, but you do feel good about having seen it. It's a masterpiece in French cinema history, Jean Gabin is ideal as the tough-as-butter soldier with a doomed soft spot for Michéle Morgan's beautiful waif, and in the end all you remember is the quiet mists of Le Havre harbor, and the sense of ill-fate and lost chances. Not to mention the beautiful eyes of a very young Morgan!
helpful•373
- ingemann2000
- Dec 13, 2004
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $27,389
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,618
- Sep 16, 2012
- Gross worldwide
- $39,623
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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