At the time I am writing this, IMDB has the title of this film rather confusingly translated as "Beauty And The Beast" - which is, of course, a whole other kettle of myth altogether.

"The Beauty Of The Devil", on the other hand, is a thoroughly sumptuous retelling of the Faust legend, told with unusual verve, and of course a flawless performance by Michel Simon (was he ever bad in anything?)

There is great atmosphere, delightfully fairytale-like sets, and first rate photography - far better than the flat cheapness of most other French films of the 1950s - all thankfully in an excellently preserved print.

The preternaturally beautiful Gerard Philipe, as Mephistopheles, also turns in a fine performance, throwing in just enough subtle traces of the rheumatic Simon to make us believe the older Faust is wearing his body. Nicole Besnard, as the gypsy maiden who takes him in, and Simone Valère, as her princess rival, both see his good looks and raise him some extra gorgeousness.

This is the most fun and romantic take on Faust I think I have seen, a parable of life and love and failure and regret. Yes, it could have been more frightening and dramatic and devilish, but then it would also have lost a lot of its charm. As it is, it's a worthy companion to Rene Clair's earlier english language movies 'I Married A Witch' and 'And Then There Were None', with a discernibly similar texture and touch, an atmosphere of fantasy, and every frame a painting in itself.

After fifty years of service to the University and science without enjoying the pleasures of life, Professor Henri Faust (Michel Simon) is visited by the servant of Lucifer, Mephistopheles (Gérard Philipe),who offers youth and a new life to him.

Professor Faust switches body with Mephistopheles and the young Henri meets the gypsy girl Marguerite (Nicole Besnard),but he is accused of killing Professor Faust and is arrested. Mephistopheles tries to force Henri to sign a contract to give his soul to Lucifer. Henri refuses and Mephistopheles schemes an evil plot, bringing Henri to the court to become successful, transforming sand into gold and becoming the lover of the Princess (Simone Valère). When Henri is dumped to the poverty again, he is lured by Mephistopheles and accepts to sign the contract. Will Lucifer win the battle against the integrity of Henri and the love of Marguerite with him?

"La Beauté du Diable" is a delightful adaptation of the German legend of Faust. The witty screenplay of René Clair and Armand Salacrou is wonderful and Michel Simon "steals" the film in the role of the wicked Mephistopheles in very funny situations. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Beleza do Diabo" ("The Beauty of the Devil")

This one turned out to be a comic fantasy as opposed to a tragi-comedy (though this was perhaps to be expected of Clair); still, it's beautifully done: clever, witty and extremely stylish. The film is certainly among the best adaptations of the Faust legend, but it also essentially lacks a sense of menace that would have made it more 'complete'.

It's interesting in that Michel Simon and Gerard Philipe alternate playing Faust and the Devil; both actors are at the top of their game here, which certainly makes for delightful viewing. Special effects, production design and camera-work all contribute enormously to the film's overall effectiveness - though it seems to have been influenced, to some extent, by Jean Cocteau's LA BELLE ET LA BETE (1946). Its updating/resetting of the story from medieval Germany to (presumably, as this is never actually stated) 19th century France is very capably handled; Clair, in fact, manages to make the famous subject matter all his own (by jettisoning/replacing some elements of the plot) and it certainly compares very favorably indeed with the two major cinematic versions of the folktale - F.W. Murnau's Expressionistic FAUST (1926) and William Dieterle's celebrated Americanization in the form of ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY aka THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941). As a sidenote, one (modernized) variation on the Faustian theme I would definitely love to watch is John Farrow's ALIAS NICK BEAL (1949),which has never been shown on TV on my side of the water!

Really, there is little to criticize here: the Devil may appear to be a bumbling fool most of the time, if a thoroughly amiable one, and the genuinely surprised expression on his face whenever one of his schemes actually works is a joy to behold; his eventual demise - hoist with his own petards - is especially amusing and unexpected, thus allowing Faust (who has effectively thwarted the course of history) to remain young and in the company of his true love. The romantic angle, though, is pretty bland - if quite typical of French cinema at this time; the scenes at court (recitals, extravagant balls and dinners) are certainly lavish but also fairly draggy, distracting one from the various lively street and tavern scenes, sideshow/gypsy caravan subplot, laboratory experiments, gold-digging sequences, etc.

All in all, a genuine treat where you have some of French cinema's finest talents all working in unison to produce an instant classic. Strangely enough, the late Leslie Halliwell (an eminent British film critic) remarked in his critique of LA BEAUTE' DU DIABLE that it is "perhaps not among Clair's greatest works", despite awarding it a highly respectable (for him) three stars; I, for one, would beg to differ!