Trap for the Assassin

This one is generally looked upon as the best version of the old-fashioned melodrama by Jules Mary.Riccardo Freda,who was mainly known for his horror movies,tried also his hand at spy thrillers in the wake of James Bond (“Coplan Ouvre Le Feu à Mexico”) ,and had a penchant for old French melodramas (before “Roger la Honte” ,he redid “Les Deux Orphelines ” -D.W.GRiffith’s “orphans of the storm-. Georges Géret replaces Lucien Coedel and Irene Pappas takes on Maria Casarès’s part of his mistress.Freda ‘s movie is more compact ,with a running time of 105 min,whereas Cayatte’s version (1945-46) spread over two episodes with a total time exceeding 3 hours.It also benefited from the use of color .But all in all,it’s the same old story.