Rich Man, Poor Man: Purple Noon (1960)

Most successful novel adaptations require fidelity to the source, but there are exceptions. Patricia Highsmith’s novels are often used a starting point for movies that explore the criminal mind without any concession to moralizing. Her characters are always in moral grey areas, but they manage to seduce the audience with their nerve until their darkest desires seem perfectly reasonable. Highsmith’s most famous novel was The Talented Mr. Ripley published in 1955 and was first turned into a 1960 movie called Plein Sol (mistranslated into Purple Noon). While the film takes some liberties with the events in the novel, director Rene Clement never lets the suspense drag, or forget that its the charm of the psychopathic protagonist that really makes the story unforgettable.

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Tags: Noon purple