Joy House (1964)

Truly Dreadful Film

Strictly average movie

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Initially I had thought 1964's Joy House was supposed to be a rip-roarin' Comedy (and a lame one at that). But I quickly found out that it was a dead-serious Thriller.Perhaps I was in the wrong frame of mind when I sat down to watch this picture, but, whether a Comedy or a Thriller, I thought Joy House stank in the worst possible way imaginable.Set in the ritzy district of the French Riviera (and directed by French film-maker, Rene Clement), I found Joy House to be a piece of empty-headed fluff that might have benefited some had it been filmed in colour.Joy House stars shallow, French actor (and all-round pretty-boy), Alain Delon, who (without his looks) couldn't act his way out of a wet, paper bag, even if his life depended on it.This film's cast also included 2 big-name, American actresses, Jane Fonda and Lola Albright. At first I thought these women's characters were a lesbian couple, but that assumption soon proved to be an error.Since this was a French production (with English subtitles), both Fonda and Albright's voices were dubbed (badly) and this annoyance, of course, proved to be yet another strike against this dimwitted picture that steadily began to grate on my nerves, big-time.From my perspective, Fonda and Albright's characters were truly sickening. These 2 bitterly jealous women (living under the same roof) were both vying for the attentions of the same man (Delon) and, as a result, they came across as being nothing but ruthless, calculating sluts.Joy House's story has small-time con-man/gigolo, Marc (Delon) on the run from a group of bungling hit men. Marc takes refuge in the posh mansion of a wealthy widow (Albright) who lives there with her cousin (Fonda).It's from this point (when Marc encounters these 2 women) that Joy House's already faltering story completely falls to pieces and lost my overall interest, altogether.

...only "Plein Soleil" ("Purple noon" -the talented M.Ripley first version- ,a first Delon/Clement collaboration ,is superior.The director's other thrillers were marred by unbearable metaphysical pretensions ("La Maison Sous les Arbres" " la Course du Lièvre à Travers Champs" "Babysitter" ...)which the use of American actors did not help.A black and white film ,a strange choice for a story which takes place in a luxury mansion on the Cote d'Azur ,the cinematography is in direct contrast to that of "Plein Soleil" .Whereas the former work was often filmed in open air ,at sea,in "les felins " ,we almost never go out of the Fonda/Albright's place.The screenplay is absorbing ,a la Boileau-Narcejac (who wrote "Diabolique" and "Vertigo" ) and the suspense is sustained throughout the story. (I particularly dig the scenes with the car at the end).It was actually René Clément's last good movie.All that follows is virtually disposable.

I have read someone talking about rené clair - hahaha ! The director is rené clement and he's made lot of classic, lot of wonderful movies as "jeux interdits", "la bataille du rail", "plein soleil" and this one, in the middle of the french cinema golden age. People talking about rené clair instead of rene clement could not be reliable at all - or john huston and john ford are the same person. Brainless often speaks like brainfull... So, here we go, Delon needs to hide and these 2 women accept to hide him from police in their beautiful house - but, what u see is not what is real, like Hitchcock used to do to fool his audience, and soon you'll learn, as the poor delon learns, that these charming ladies are worse than the police... Women here are pretty modern, and men are toys for them, toys u can tear apart, toys u can leave in a room til u need them, men slaves to their desire and will. And what was at the beginning just a hide and seek with the police become a nightmare and a jail for a man totally under control of 2 women - like women had been toys for men for centuries... And this is the modern part of the movie, the raising power of women in the world and the unability for men to take back the control of their lives. Delon is handsome as the devil, but a devil ruined by women, with no escape, and what was only a runaway movie becomes a nightmare movie - watch it til the end ! Without hesitation --> 9/10

MST 3000 would have a field day with this muddled mess! Convoluted, incoherent, and embarrassing! The plot revolves around sexy international playboy Alan Delon (who's a thug), underrated Lola Albright (who's lonely), and a stunningly beautiful Jane Fonda (who's horny). Somewhere in between there's a shrunken head, gorgeous French Riviera scenery, two-way mirrors, and a man lurking around in the movie's seaside Gothic mansion.I don't know what's going on here except director Rene Clair did a fine job with Purple Noon (remade as The Talented Mr. Ripley) and you should rent that instead. However, you won't see pre-feminist Jane Fonda trying to seduce Corridor Man by doing 'the Surf' in a strapless bra and slip (dig that crazy music!) or future Dukes of Hazzard's Boss Hogg play the villian.