Elevator to the Gallows / Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (1958) — Louis Malle’s debut feature (screenplay by Malle & Roger Nimier from Noël Calef’s novel), with cinematography by Henri Decaë and an improvised score by Miles Davis . Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet), a war veteran, murders his boss Simon Carala (Jean Wall) to be with Florence (Jeanne Moreau), staging it as suicide; returning to retrieve his rope, he gets trapped in the office elevator when the building shuts for the weekend . Meanwhile joyriding teen Louis (Georges Poujouly) steals Julien’s car with Véronique (Yori Bertin), checks into a motel as “Mr. and Mrs. Tavernier,” and later kills the German couple Horst & Frieda Bencker (Ivan Petrovich, Elga Andersen) with Julien’s pistol . Florence wanders Paris at night convinced Julien left her; police led by Inspector Cherrier (Lino Ventura) misread evidence (including motel photos) and pin the Bencker murders on Julien . After a botched suicide pact, Véronique confesses; Julien escapes the elevator but is arrested . Cherrier confronts Florence with photos from the motel that also incriminate her; she says she acted for love and asks to be with Julien .
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