| The Passion of Slow Fire | |
| Director: | Édouard Molinaro |
| Producer: | François Chavane |
| Based On: | (D' Après Le Roman) Georges Simenon |
| Narrator: | La mort de Belle by Georges Simenon |
| Music: | Georges Delerue |
| Cinematography: | Jean-Louis Picavet |
| Editing: | Monique Isnardon Robert Isnardon |
| Color Process: | Black and white |
| Studio: | Cinéphonic |
| Distributor: | Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France |
| Runtime: | 103 minutes |
| Country: | France |
| Language: | French |
The Passion of Slow Fire (French: La Mort de Belle) is a 1961 French crime film directed by Édouard Molinaro and starring Jean Desailly and based on the novel La mort de Belle by Georges Simenon.[1]
Stéphane Blanchon lives a quiet life in Switzerland with his wife, Christine, until a young American boarder named Belle, who was living with them, is found murdered.
The New York Times called it "an elegantly comprehensive and persuasive movie version of a Georges Simenon novel" and "concise, introspective drama," and added that "the fascination of the impeccable acting of a first-rate cast, headed by Jean Desailly, is the exquisitely restrained flow and fusion of the incidents, as the protagonist finds his soul stripped bare." The reviewer also praised "director Edouard Molinaro's austere pacing" and wrote that "the adaptation by Jean Anouilh, the playwright, is so visual that it absorbs some brief flashbacks and the protagonist's occasional narration like a sponge."[2] TV Guide described it as "an entertaining crime drama from a novel by the masterful Georges Simenon."[3]