February 3, 2009 (XVIII:4) Henri-Georges Clouzot LES DIABOLIQUES (1955, 80 Min)
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February 3, 2009 (XVIII:4) Henri-Georges Clouzot LES DIABOLIQUES (1955, 80 min) Produced and directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot Based on the novel Celle qui n'était plus by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac Screenplay by Jérôme Géronimi, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Frédéric Grendel and René Masson Original Music by Georges Van Parys Cinematography by Armand Thirard Film Editing by Madeleine Gug Simone Signoret ...Nicole Horner Véra Clouzot ...Christina Delassalle Paul Meurisse ...Michel Delassalle Charles Vanel ...Alfred Fichet, le commissaire Jean Brochard ...Plantiveau, le concierge Pierre Larquey ...M.Drain, professeur HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT (November 20, 1907, Niort, Deux- (1969), The Sea Gull (1968), Games (1967), The Deadly Affair Sèvres, Poitou-Charentes, France—January 12, 1977, Paris, (1966), Paris brûle-t-il?/Is Paris Burning? (1966), Ship of Fools France) has 34 writing and 18 directing credits. Some of his films (1965), Le jour et l'heure/Today We Live (1963), Term of Trial were La Prisonnière/Woman in Chains (1968), Messa da Requiem (1962), Barabba/Barabbas (1961), Room at the Top (1959), Les von Giuseppe Verdi/Giuseppe Verdi: Requiem (1967), L’Enfer Sorcières de Salem/The Crucible (1957), La mort en ce (1964), La Vérité/The Truth (1960), Les Espions/The Spies jardin/Death in the Garden (1956), Les Diaboliques/The Devils (1957), Le Mystère Picasso/The Mystery of Picasso (1956), Les (1955), Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1955), Casque Diaboliques/Diabolique (1955), Le salaire de la peur/The Wages d'or/Golden Helmet (1952), Ombre et lumière/Shadow and Light of Fear (1953), Miquette et sa mère (1950), Le voyage en Brésil (1951), La Ronde (1950), Gunman in the Streets (1950), (1950), Retour à la vie/Return to Life (1949), Manon (1949), Quai Macadam/Black Streets of Paris (1946), Le Mort ne reçoit plus des Orfèvres (1947), Le Corbeau/The Raven (1943), L’Asassin (1944), Les visiteurs du soir/The Devil’s Envoys (1942), and Le habite... au 21/The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1942), Tout Prince Charmant (1942). pour l'amour (1933), Caprice de princesse (1933), and La terreur des Batignolles (1931). VÉRA CLOUZOT (December 30, 1913, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil— December 15, 1960, Paris, France) appeared in only three films, SIMONE SIGNORET (March 25, 1921, Wiesbaden, Germany— all directed by her husband: Les Espions/The Spies (1957), Les September 30, 1985, Autheuil-Anthouillet, Eure, Haute Diaboliques/The Devils (1955), and Le Salaire de la peur/The Normandie, France) appeared in 34 films. She won a best actress Wages of Fear (1953). Oscar for Room at the Top (1959) and had a best actress Oscar nomination for Ship of Fools (1965). Some of her other films were PAUL MEURISSE (December 21, 1912, Dunkerque, Nord, Nord- Music Hall (1986), Thérèse Humbert (1983), Guy de Maupassant Pas-de-Calais, France—January 19, 1979, Neuilly-sur-Seine, (1982), L’Étoile du Nord/The North Star (1982), Hauts-de-Seine, France) has 67 acting credits, some of which are L’Adolescente/The Adolescent (1979), La vie devant soi (1977), Le Gitan/The Gypsy (1975), L’Éducation amoureuse de La chair de l'orchidée/Flesh of the Orchid (1975), Rude journée Valentin/The Education in Love of Valentin (1975), Les pour la reine/Rough Day for the Queen (1973), Les granges Suspects/The Suspects (1974), Doucement les basses/Easy Down brulées/The Burned Barns (1973), Le Chat/The Cat (1971), Un There! (1971), L’Armée des ombres/Army of Shadows (1969), Le otage/A Hostage (1970), L’Aveu/The Confession (1970), L’Armée Deuxième soufflé/Second Breathe (1966), La Grosse caisse/The des ombres/Army of Shadows (1969), L’Américain/The American Clouzot—LES DIABOLIQUES—2 Big Swag (1965), Moi et les hommes de 40 ans/Me and the Forty des Orfèvres/Quay of the Goldsmiths (1947), La Symphonie Year Old Man (1965), Les Tontons flingueurs/Monsieur Gangster pastorale (1946), La Fille du diable (1946), L’Assassin habite... (1963), L’Assassin connaît la musique.../The Murderer Knows the au 21/The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1942), L’Assassinat du Score (1963), L’Oeil du monocle/The Eye of the Monocle (1962), Père Noël/The Killing of Santa Claus (1941), Volpone (1941), Le Le Monocle noir/The Black Monocle (1961), La Vérité/The Truth Patriote/The Mad Emperor (1938), Nuits de feu/The Living (1960), Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe/Picnic on the Grass (1959), Le Corpse (1937), Un déjeuner de soleil/A Picnic on the Grass Septième ciel/Seventh Heaven (1958), Les Violents (1957), (1937), La Peur (1936), Mayerling (1936), L’Équipage/Flight L’Affaire des poisons/The Poison Affair (1955), La Contessa di Into Darkness (1935), La Maison dans la dune/The House on the Castiglione/The Contessa’s Secret (1955), Les Diaboliques/The Dune (1934), Le Petit roi/The Little King (1933), Le Bal (1931), Devils (1955), Sérénade au bourreau (1951), Maria du bout du La Divine croisière (1929), L’Agonie de Jérusalem (1927), Le monde/Maria of the End of the World (1951), Sergil et le dictateur Mystère de la tour Eiffel (1927), and L’Homme à l'Hispano (1948), Le Colonel Durand (1948), Inspecteur Sergil (1947), (1926). Macadam/Back Streets of Paris (1946), Marie la Misère/Destitute Mary (1945), Mariage d'amour/Love Marriage (1942), Défense “Clouzot, Henri-Georges” from World Film Directors, V. I. d'aimer (1942), and Ne bougez plus (1941). Ed. John Wakeman. The H.W. Wilson Co., NY, 1987. Entry by Kinstantin Bazarov. CHARLES VANEL (August 21, 1892, Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, France—April 15, 1989, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France) has French director, and dramatist, was born in Niort (Deux-Sèvres) 177 acting credits, some of which are Les Saisons du plaisir in the west of France. In his teens he entered he naval academy at (1988), Si le soleil ne revenait pas/If the Sun Never Returns Brest, but on graduation he was rejected by the navy itself because (1987), Le Chemin perdu/The Lost Way (1980), Alice ou la of poor sight. He then began the study of law with a view to dernière fugue/Alice or the Last Escapade (1977), Nuit entering the French diplomatic service, abandoning his plans at d'or/Golden Night (1976), Par le sang des autres/By the Blood of the age of twenty to become a journalist. From 1927 to 1930 he Others (1974), Camorra/Gang War in Naples (1972), Ballade worked for the daily newspaper Paris-Midi. pour un chien/Ballad for a Dog (1969), Du rififi à Tokyo/Rififi in Clouzot began his film career in 1931 as a scriptwriter. Tokyo (1963), On roule à deux (1960), La Vérité/The Truth That same year he directed a short picture, Le Terreur de (1960), Le Piège/Any Man’s Woman (1958), Les Suspects/The Batignolles, and soon after he served as an assistant director to Suspects (1957), La Mort en ce jardin/Death in the Garden Anatole Litvak and the German director E.A. Dupont. In 1932- (1956), To Catch a Thief (1955), Les Diaboliques/The Devils 1933 he worked in Berlin, preparing French versions of German (1955), Maddalena (1954), Le Salaire de la peur/The Wages of movies. Clouzot was plagued all his life by ill health and in his Fear (1953), Malaire (1952), L’Ultima sentenza (1951), In nome late twenties spent four years in a Swiss sanatorium—an della legge/In the Name of the Law (1949), Le Diable experience, it has been suggested, that contributed a great deal to soufflé/Woman of Evil (1947), La Brigade sauvage/Savage the profound pessimism that characterizes his work. Apart from Brigade (1939), S.O.S. Sahara (1939), Police mondaine (1937), this interruption, he spent most of the ten years from 1931 to 1941 Michel Strogoff (1935), Le Grand jeu (1934), Au bout du monde as a scenarist, writing or collaborating on scripts for films directed (1934), Les Misérables (1934), Gitanes (1932), L’Arlésienne by Carmine Gallone, Pierre Fresnay, and Georges Lacombe, (1930), Waterloo (1929), Die Apachen von Paris (1927), Martyre among others. During the same period Clouzot wrote a number of (1926), Nitchevo (1926), L’Orphelin du cirque (1925), Le Réveil plays, two or three of which have been staged, and an opera (1925), In the Spider's Web (1924), Le Vol (1923), and Jim Crow libretto. (1910) Fresnay starred in the first feature Clouzot directed, L’Assassin habite au 21 (The Killer Lives at 21, 1942), based on a ARMAND THIRARD (October 25, 1899, Mantes, Yvelines, Île-de- thriller by S.A. Steeman. Clouzot wrote his own scenario (as he France, France—November 12, 1973, Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine, generally did, often in collaboration with Jean Ferry or Jérome Île-de-France, France) has 124 cinematographer credits, some of Géronimi), and the result was found competent but unexceptional. which are La Bataille de San Sebastian/Guns for San Sebastian It was followed by Le Corbeau (The Crow, 1943) which remains (1968), Messa da Requiem von Giuseppe Verdi/Giuseppe Verdi: one of Clouzot’s finest films, though it almost ended his career. Requiem (1967), Soleil noir/Black Sun (1966), La Fabuleuse An absorbing mystery story about a poison-pen campaign, it is aventure de Marco Polo/Marco the Magnificent (1965), Les Petits also a brilliant if malicious study of life in a small provincial chats/Wild Roots of Love (1965), Lemmy pour les dames/Ladies’ town. Every one of the principal characters is shown to be tainted Man (1962), Les Menteurs/The Liars (1961), Les Trois in some way by evil or corruption, and any one of them might be mousquetaires: La vengeance de Milady/Vengeance of the Three the dreaded Crow—a fact that is powerfully dramatized in the Musketeers (1961), Goodbye Again (1961), La Vérité/The Truth famous scene in which a swinging lamp alternately illuminates (1960), Babette s'en va-t-en guerre/Babette Goes to War (1959), and darkens the faces of the suspects.