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==Synopsis==
In Paris the young ex-
Along the way, Ferchaux tells him men can be either sheep, leopards, or jackals. He's impressed when Maudet plays a Sinatra song on a diner jukebox, two G.I.s come in and change it to an Elvis Presley song, and Maudet knocks them both down, and puts 'Frankie-boy' back on. But as the trip continues, Maudet becomes more and more dominant, stopping the car against Maudet's orders, to pick up a pretty blonde hitchhiker he has a brief fling with. Ferchaux realizes he must be on guard against Maudet, but grows increasingly dependent upon him. It's made clear to Maudet, by the immigration agents, that Ferchaux has no chance of escaping to Venezuela, and Maudet himself may have to stay in America for some time.
Renting an isolated house in New Orleans, Ferchaux falls sick and Maudet gets increasingly frustrated at the whims of an old man with no power left beyond his attaché case of dollars. Going to the neighbourhood bar for drink and company, Maudet mentions his boss's stash to the owner Jeff, a crook and murderer, and then picks up a dancer Lou in a night club. Deciding he would rather be with her, he takes Ferchaux's case of money but something makes him go back with it to the house, where Jeff and an accomplice are trying to rob Ferchaux, who fights back ferociously. Though Maudet routs the villains, Ferchaux has been knifed and dies in his arms. With his last breath he urges Maudet to take his keys, which will open another safe-deposit box full of dollars in Venezuela, but Maudet has had enough.▼
▲Renting an isolated house in New Orleans, Ferchaux
==Production==
Jean-Pierre Melville cast [[Spencer Tracy]] as Dieudonné Ferchaux, but the actor fell ill. Melville offered the part to [[Charles Boyer]]. Though tempted, Boyer opted to make his London stage debut in [[Terrence Rattigan]]'s ''[[Man and Boy (play)|Man and Boy]]''.<ref>Baxter, John. ''Charles Boyer: The French Lover''. [[University Press of Kentucky]], 2021. 199.</ref>
Some scenes were shot on location in the U.S. However, the two lead actors were filmed in France.<ref name=Frodon/>{{rp|10}} It was Melville's first feature film shot in color and [[:fr:Franscope|Franscope]].<ref>Fournier-Lanzoni, Remi. ''French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present''. Continuum, 2002. 457.</ref><ref name=Frodon/>{{rp|15}}
== Cast ==
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==Release==
''Magnet of Doom'' was released in France in 1963.<ref name="bifi">{{cite web|url=http://cinema.encyclopedie.films.bifi.fr/index.php?pk=50135&_ga=1.21809787.1144870515.1435149737|publisher=Bifi.fr|title=L'Aîné des Ferchaux|accessdate=July 9, 2015|language=French}}</ref> It was also shown at the inaugural [[List_of_films_shown_at_the_New_York_Film_Festival#Films_at_the_first_New_York_Film_Festival_(1963)|New York Film Festival]] in [[David Geffen Hall|Philharmonic Hall]].<ref>"[https://nyti.ms/3yDwevm New York's Film Festival Presents]", ''The New York Times''. September 8, 1963.</ref>
The film was released as ''An Honorable Young Man'' on [[DVD]] by Video Dimensions.<ref name=Frodon>Frodon, Jean-Michel. “Jean-Pierre Melville: The Filmmaker as Undercover Dandy.” ''[[Cinéaste (magazine)|Cinéaste]]'', vol. 45, no. 3, 2020. 8–15.</ref>{{rp|15}}
==Reception==
The film was well received in France. It cemented Melville's status in the pantheon of French [[auteur]]s.<ref>Zimmer, Jacques and Chantai de Béchade. ''Jean-Pierre Melville''. Paris: Filmo. 1983. 111.</ref> ''[[Cahiers du Cinéma]]'' praised the superficiality of Melville's film, relying on appearances to say what it wants. The reviewer compared Melville's eye to [[Claude Monet]], concluding "[Melville] knows how to detect the essential...he is a terribly demanding spectator".<ref name=Cahiers/>
[[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]] of ''[[The New Leader]]'' saw ''Magnet of Doom'' at the New York Film Festival. He dismissed the film as 'more than usually trashy Simenon turned into a would-be thriller, with Belmondo perpetuating his irresistible, smilingly evil, stereotyped self'.<ref>{{cite book |title=Private Screenings|last1=Simon|first1=John |publisher=The MacMillan Company |year=1967 |page=85|url=https://archive.org/details/privatescreening0000john/page/85/mode/1up}}</ref> Melville's depiction of America was seen as anachronistic.<ref>[[Vincent Canby|Canby, Vincent]]. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/13/archives/the-godson-no-relation-to-godfather-opens.html 'The Godson' (No Relation to 'Godfather') Opens]", ''[[The New York Times]]''. July 13, 1972.</ref> The relationship between Maudet and Ferchaux has been described as homoerotic, a common trait of Melville's films.<ref>[[Ginette Vincendeau|Vincendau, Ginette]]. ''Jean-Pierre Melville: An American in Paris''. British Film Institute, 2003. 21.</ref> ''Magnet of Doom'' has been described as a "mood piece" where "Very little actually happens in the film, other than the ambience: seedy, squalid, aimless, listless, stirred by Michel’s discontent, boredom and sexual longing."<ref>Bradshaw, Peter. "Jean-Pierre Melville: Cinematic Poet of the Lowlife and Criminal". ''[[The Guardian]]''. August 8, 2017.</ref>
When [[Bertrand Tavernier]] disparaged the film to Melville, the director responded, "It's my best movie".<ref>Dupont, Joan. "Lighting the Way”. ''[[Film Comment]]'', vol. 52, no. 5, 2016. 48.</ref> He once remarked that it was his most personal film and that it could serve as his [[Will and testament|will]] if he were to disappear.<ref name=Cahiers>Domarchi, Jean. "[https://archive.org/details/CahiersDuCinma/Cahiers%20du%20Cin%C3%A9ma/149/page/n66/mode/1up L'homme des cavernes]", ''[[Cahiers du Cinéma]]''. Tome XXV, No. 149. November, 1963. 65–6.</ref> At the [[Institut des hautes études cinématographiques]] in 1964, Melville lectured about the importance of [[Scenic design|set design]] and [[Art_director#In_film|art direction]] using scenes from the film as demonstrations.<ref>Breitbart, Eric. “Call Me Melville.” ''[[New England Review ]]'', vol. 27, no. 3, 2006. 179.</ref>
The pilgrimage to [[Frank Sinatra]]'s birthplace and the "hypnotic car rides" in the film are seen as the most emblematic of Melville's "mystical Americanophilia".<ref>McArthur, Colin. "MISE-EN-SCÈNE DEGREE ZERO: Jean-Pierre Melville’s ''Le Samouraï''", ''French Film: Texts and Contexts''. Edited by Susan Hayward, and Ginette Vincendeau. Taylor & Francis Group, 2000. 191.</ref>
==References==
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[[Category:Italian crime drama films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jean-Pierre Melville]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Films based on Belgian novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Georges Simenon]]
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