Head Against the Wall
Head Against the Wall, also titled The Keepers, is a 1959 French drama film directed by Georges Franju starring Pierre Brasseur, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Anouk Aimée, and Charles Aznavour. It was director Franju's debut feature film. The story follows an aimless young man who is institutionalized for defying his wealthy father, and in the process airs several questions about how society defines and treats mental illness.
Plot
François, the carefree son of an influential lawyer, has no qualifications and no job. To mix with rich and superficial friends, he has borrowed money that he cannot repay. In search of money, he breaks into his father's desk, steals his cash, and wantonly burns one of his legal documents. Rather than call the police, his father has him committed to an isolated psychiatric hospital in the country. François discovers that many of the inmates are not seriously deranged, but Dr. Varmont, senior doctor of the ward where he is interned, is of the opinion that the mentally ill should be locked away from society.
Cast
- André Thorent
- Anouk Aimée
- Charles Aznavour
- Claude Castaing
- Claude Mansard
- Doudou Babet
- Édith Scob
- Georges Pally
- Henri Poirier
- Henri San Juan
- Jacques Mancier
- Jacques Seiler
- Jean Galland
- Jean Ozenne
- Jean-Pierre Mocky
- Jean Rougerie
- Luc Andrieux
- Lucien Camiret
- Max Montavon
- Paul Demange
- Paul Meurisse
- Pierre Brasseur
- Pierre Mirat
- Raoul Marco
- René Alié
- Roger Legris
- Rudy Lenoir
- Thomy Bourdelle
- Véronique Nordey
More details
| author | Georges Franju Jean-Pierre Mocky |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Paris |
| director | Georges Franju |
| editor | Suzanne Sandberg |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | derange end epileptic seizure escape attempt find a job gamble hide illegal gambling isolated lock meet mentally ill morning pentobarbital psychiatric hospital wait wound |
| musicBy | Maurice Jarre |
| producer | Jean Velter |
| productionCompany | ATICA Elpénor Films La Société des Films Sirius |
| publisher | La Société des Films Sirius |
| recordedAt | Paris |