Made partly while Grémillon was working at the Ufa Studios in Berlin, this adaptation of a novel by André Boucler features the young Jean Gabin as a foreign-legion Casanova—the “lady killer” Lucien Bourrache—who meets his match in the mysterious seductress Madeleine (Balin). Love strikes for real this time for Lucien, but the sincerity of his lover’s affection remains unpredictably in doubt. Eschewing romanticism and melodramatic conventions for a sober and realistic treatment, Grémillon, with the aid of cinematographer Günther Rittau (The Blue Angel), creates a carefully nuanced aura of suspense that culminates in the film’s tragic dénouement. The sizzling electricity between Gabin and Balin made Gueule d’amour a rare popular success for the director.