Lift to the scaffold / Elevator to the gallows / Frantic is a movie by a young Louis Malle that came out in 1958. It featured improvised modal jazz by Miles Davis, and is considered one of the first examples of the French cinematic style of nouvelle vague.
Jean-Paul Rappeneau was an assistant of Malle and also a jazz fan. Miles Davis was already an established name in jazz, but this was still before his real big hits. He asked the jazz trumpeter, who gave his sidemen just a few musical sketches before starting the recording session in the studio of Le Poste Parisien in Paris. They played while relevant scenes were projected on the walls, to get them in the mood. That mood is really finding its way into every note on this record. If this sounds like film noir, it is because this is the kind of music that was used for that. Later. Both the movie and the music created a new genre.
The movie tells about two lovers, Lucien and Florence that murder the husband of one of them. So far so good, but while escaping, Lucien discovers a rope he left, hanging outside of the building. He goes back, but gets stuck in the elevator / lift because the power is cut off by the security guard closing up for the night. Things run out of hand when Luciens car is stolen and Florence sees what she thinks is Lucien drive past with another woman. What follows is a series of mistaken identities and conclusion jumps.
This is a remastered version, with added different takes. The additions are really worth it, and are really in the same mood as the rest. I’m quite impressed with this record. It resembles the version that is on Spotify, which I can recommend.