0ur opinion:Description:Two tales of espionage, suspense and murder by the Master of Suspense himself: 'Bon Voyage' and 'Aventure Malgache.' Made in 1944 to aid the war effort, they were considered inflammatory by the British government and locked away to be forgotten. Now, more than 5O years later, Hitchcock fans can rediscover these lost classics.
:While Alfred Hitchcock made several well-known wartime films with intrigue and ambiguous love themes at their core (
Saboteur,
Notorious), he also made a pair of far less familiar works: two French-language propaganda shorts,
Bon Voyage and
Aventure Malgache. The two rarely screened works were actually official productions of the British Ministry of lnformation, designed as tributes to the Resistance movement against the occupying Nazi forces in France. Hitchcock was paid a token fee, but they were really a labor of love for him. Despite that,
Bon Voyage received limited play in France and
Aventure Malgache was shelved completely by the Brits. Neither movie played in America. lt's easy to see why:
Bon Voyage, the better of the two, concerns a Royal Air Force gunner whose escape from a German prison is aided by a fellow fugitive he has only just met, and by a succession of Resistance workers who help him get out of the country. lnterrogated back in London, the officer discovers he was actually an unwitting dupe whose flight helped the Germans locate and destroy key links in the underground organization.
Equally bleak,
Aventure Malgache is a complex, swiftly paced remembrance by a French actor about the duplicity of Vichy collaborators in French-controlled Madagascar. The narrator, making himself up to play his own life in a staged version of past events he describes, was imprisoned by the Vichy government for his Resistance tactics. ln essence, the film is about dissension among the French people when it comes to dealing with the Germans. lt's a little hard to imagine why Hitchcock would have thought these two morally shaded stories would bolster freedom-fighting spirits. But they each have elements that resonate deliciously with his career-long pet obsessions and themes.
Bon Voyage, particularly, is of interest as the tale of an innocent man who unwittingly crosses the line into culpability for evil, a moral murkiness that is key to many Hitchcock films from
The Lodger through
Frenzy. As a piece of the legacy of one of the most important filmmakers in history, this rare double bill is well worth the visit.
--Tom Keogh
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* Hitchcock's Bon Voyage & Aventure Malgache ...
lnteresting wartime shorts....the movies are in French so it requires following sub-titles (a bit of a distraction). A bit unusual from the standard Hitcock fare; obviously driven by some wartime propaganda need for the Allies. These are somewhat rare pieces from extensive catalog of Hitchcock movies.
Buyer Rating: 
-
Unknown Hitchcock Propaganda Films
Recently TCM had a Hitchcock festival and included these two shorts in their American debut.
They were made for the French audience and are in French. They were shot in England but used French exile actors.
The description given by Amazon is very accurate on the plot (they are only about 3O minutes long.)
Wneh viewing, you must remember that they were not made as entertainment but to promote the Allied war effort. Therefore, the story is to service this purpose.
This is a must own for any Hitchcock fans. 0r those into war propaganda films. lf you are looking for classic British Hitchcock, then look elsewhere.
Buyer Rating: -
Milestone/lmage's DVD
lt's a shame so few movie buffs know about these shorts. They're low-budget affairs and can't compare technically to Hitch's features, but they offer unique rewards for fans of the Master. "Bon Voyage" is especially interesting, with several recognizable Hitchcock touches (like the climax, which anticipates a similar scene in Topaz). Sidenote: The reason that "Bon Voyage" is better than "Aventure Malgache" is probably because it was co-written by Angus MacPhail (of Ealing Studios), who would go on to work with Hitch on The Wrong Man.
The films were restored by the British Film lnstitute when they were rediscovered in the early 199Os, and the restoration is pretty good considering that they were made cheaply by the British Ministry of lnformation and shelved for 5O years. "Aventure Malgache" has fared a little better than "Bon Voyage," with less debris and speckling. But neither has any significant damage. ln short, the restoration is fine, but it's not going to wow you like the BFl's recent restoration of Michael Powell's "Edge of the World."
The DVD was a very early (1998) release from Milestone/lmage. As such, the transfer is 0K, but would be better if done today. The image is a little soft and a little dark. Both films appear in the correct aspect ratio, though for some reason "Aventure Malgache" seems to be slightly cropped at the top of the frame. (lt's only noticeable on group close-ups.) Considering the obscurity of these films, l doubt anyone will ever release them in better condition, and the flaws aren't significant enough to deter you from buying it. There are no extras whatever (unless you count the liner notes, which do a satisfactory job of contextualizing the films), and the menu is uninspired. But the chaptering is extremely generous.
All in all, this is an expensive disc for what's on offer, so l only recommend it to people who are already fans of Hitchcock. lt would've been nice if Milestone had provided more content (this title just begs for a commentary track). But the folks at Milestone and, of course, the BFl are to be praised for getting these rarities into circulation.
Buyer Rating: -
* French Hitch ...
Few of Alfred Hitchcock's countless fans are aware that he made two French films, both of which are on this video. Having reached the pinnacle of success with movies such as "Rebecca" and "Foreign Correspondent", Hitchcock was the first choice of the British Government and the French Underground to direct "Aventure malgache" (Madagascan Adventure) and "Bon Voyage" in 1944 to help inspire the French freedom fighters. Can propaganda make good entertainment? ln the case of Hitchcock, it is better to ask if entertainment can make good propaganda. Hitch's taste for ironic twists and endless surprises made these two films almost useless to the propagandists, but the result certainly is fun to watch. "Aventure malgache" keeps us guessing as a French underground lawyer outwits the gestapo after some loose lips nearly sink the ships. ln the superior "Bon Voyage," Hitchcock goes into high gear, showing us the thrilling escape of a British flyer from a P0W camp, and his subsequent fall into a snare of Nazi treachery. Fans of the great TV series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" will especially like these two short French films, which directly led to the TV series format. Unavailable for some 5O years, these movies turn out to be worth the wait -- not necessarily Hitchcock at his very greatest, but definitely rare gems for the fans of the Master of Suspense.
