Julien Tavernier: Don't sneer at war. It's your bread and butter. Indochina netted you how much? And now Algeria. Have some respect for war. It's your family heirloom.
Le commissaire Cherrier: You see madam there are always several photos in a camera.
Commissaire de police: Anything's good for an alibi. Wives, girlfriends, bartenders, childhood friends, deceived husbands - but not an elevator. That's ridiculous. It's totally harebrained.
[first lines]

Florence Carala: I'm the one who can't take anymore. I love you. I love you. So we have to. I love you.
Julien Tavernier: Without your voice, I'd be lost in a land of silence.

Florence Carala: That's not very daring.

Julien Tavernier: Love isn't daring.
Simon Carala: Honestly, my dear Tavernier, you often keep me waiting. During the Indochina War, it didn't matter. What was one defeat more or less? But now you're in big business. This isn't a dream.
Simon Carala: I needed a hero in my business.

Julien Tavernier: A retired hero.

Simon Carala: This kind of work doesn't call for ragpickers but for angels. A paratrooper is a good angel.
Simon Carala: They do good work in counterintelligence. They know almost as much as the Americans.
Geneviève: Funny about the boss. He always leaves without warning. He hails a taxi by himself, like a thief.

Maurice: When does he get back?

Geneviève: We never know that either. Last time, he went down to Naples to buy tankers. He might do it again.

Maurice: Can't you catch cholera in Naples?
Véronique: What's crazy is to imagine incredible things. And I really mean something terrific. And it is terrific.
Louis: A revolver. A spy camera. Jelfa Oil. He's shady, this Tavernier.

Véronique: Maybe he's a secret agent? Look at the way he dresses.
Louis: A Mercedes! A 300 SL!

Véronique: Foreigners! They're Danish.

Louis: No, they're Germans.
Horst Bencker: Ah! My favorite champagne. We didn't have this brand during the occupation.

Véronique: He doesn't like champagne.

Horst Bencker: How sad. Had I known you can't stand champagne...

Louis: It does nothing for me. My generation has other things on its mind. Four years of occupation, Indochina, Algeria.

Horst Bencker: Bravo! Bravo! To Europe!

Véronique: To Europe!

Frieda Bencker: To Europe!
Horst Bencker: We Germans don't like war.

Louis: Yeah, right!

Horst Bencker: You're just like the older generation of Frenchmen. We're just traveling businessmen. And a uniform for traveling tends to stand out.
Horst Bencker: War is not only horrible. It's a complete waste of time.
[repeated line]

Florence Carala: Have you seen Mr. Tavernier tonight?
Florence Carala: [inner voice] Julien with that girl? Why? Yes, I recognized the flower shop girl. I can't believe it. That would be so shabby.
Florence Carala: [inner voice] I lost you in the night, Julien. I should have left you alone. I shouldn't have kissed you or caressed your face.
Christian Subervie: You can't rely on that Julien. We met in Algiers.

Florence Carala: You were an officer?

Christian Subervie: Ah, no. I was in the refrigerator business. He must be with a broad. He's neglected all his pals.
Christian Subervie: Julien doesn't give a damn about women.

Yvonne, La fille du bar: Julien's sweet.

Elevator to the Gallows Quotes

Extended Reading

Elevator to the Gallows short comments

Uriel 2022-03-15 09:01:05

The first Louis Mahler, I can't believe it was just a debut. A deep movie made up of thrilling accidents, the opening is a close-up of Moreau, and then the story develops in an unexpected direction, about the contradiction between crime and lies, views on life and death, and a jazz soundtrack by Miles Davis It is very charming.
Federico 2022-03-14 14:12:26

I think of twelve angry men! In addition to the similar production period and the same blockbuster debut, it also evokes similar questions about the two works: the repeated use of core elements. Yes, the testimony of the black boy was questioned or even overturned by Juror No. 8. But things like guilt do not exist in isolation in a vacuum. The probability that they appear in a case at the same time but they are all unfounded is close to zero; similarly, the narrative path usually only has one accidental or natural narrative. Unexpectedly, and the film went from being left behind, to being trapped, from losing the car to shooting, to the final photos in a row? To make a joke, director Mahler’s attitude towards conspiracy of men and women can be described as: there is no coincidence for the crime to be exposed! ...But fortunately, the main point of the two films is not the logic itself. Or drama tension and speculative spirit, or blues melancholy and love steadfastness, just create classics.