Suspense at the Tour de France – 5 Tulipes Rouges Original Movie Poster – 1949

This poster is an original first printing, not a reproduction.

5 Tulipes Rouge / Five Red Tulips is the 1949 French film noir classic directed by Jean Stelli and starring René Dary, Suzanne Dehelly, and Raymond Bussières.

The Tour de France, interrupted during the war, resumed in 1947. The action of this film takes place just a year later (very important for the end of the story). During this Tour de France inspired movie, set in 1948, five champions, all wearing the race leader yellow jersey, are assassinated as the race stages progress. A car accident in which the brakes were sabotaged, poisoning, sawed-off bicycle handlebars, a bicycle spoke stuck in a rider’s back by a gloved hand. Each time, the murderer leaves a red tulip close to the victim as a signature.  Who did this dastardly deed? Police inspector Ricoul and tenacious female sportswriter Colonelle join efforts to unmask the culprit. This has always been a scarce poster. Of the three sizes, this example is by far the most difficult to find.

This lot includes the poster only as the screenshots are, well, screenshots.

This poster has been archivally and professionally linen backed. Virtually all original vintage posters of this era were viewed as temporary advertising and were printed on fragile, thin paper. While expensive, linen backing is a conservation method used to mount, stabilize, preserve, and protect vintage posters so they can be displayed or framed without compromising value.