Diabolique

Watch: Diabolique

11/21/19551h 57m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ See it, be amazed at it, but...BE QUIET ABOUT IT! ~

Overview:

The cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, is murdered by an unlikely duo -- his meek wife and the mistress he brazenly flaunts. The women become increasingly unhinged by a series of odd occurrences after Delassalle's corpse mysteriously disappears.

Director:

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Status:

Released

Language:

French

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

wife
female lover
morgue
swimming pool
teacher
plan gone wrong
mistress
french noir
boys' boarding school
headmaster
philanderer
mischievous children
missing body
abusive husband
abused wife
wicker trunk
frightened woman

Cast

Véra Clouzot

~ as ~

Christina Delassalle

Simone Signoret

~ as ~

Nicole Horner

Paul Meurisse

~ as ~

Michel Delassalle

Charles Vanel

~ as ~

Police Inspector Alfred Fichet

Jean Brochard

~ as ~

Plantiveau

Pierre Larquey

~ as ~

Mr. Drain

Michel Serrault

~ as ~

Mr. Raymond

Yves-Marie Maurin

~ as ~

Moinet

Georges Poujouly

~ as ~

Soudieu

Thérèse Dorny

~ as ~

Mrs. Herboux

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

t
talisencrw
Written 8 year(s) ago
10
I have only seen but two of Clouzot's films (this and the equally brilliant 'The Wages of Fear'), but I understand immediately what connoisseurs mean when they say he's the French Alfred Hitchcock. He has an innate and unbelievably vivid and accurate take on human nature. I can't wait to check out the rest of his oeuvre.
John Chard
Written 8 year(s) ago
10
The keys in the pool, the husband in the morgue! You dream too much about water in this house!

Headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delaselle (Paul Meurisse) is a brooding bully of a man, one day his wife and mistress decide enough is enough and plot to kill him, trouble is that once they murder him, his body disappears and reported sightings of him are adding to the ladies' paranoia.

Thus is the setting for director Henri-Georges Clouzot's brilliant suspenser. The pace is stiflingly perfect, he gently racks up the tension, neatly toying with audience expectation, the sense of dread that hangs in the air is palpable. How refreshing it is to see a suspense film actually build its plot for a good hour? In this day and age the MTV generation would be walking out of this after 30 minutes. Armand Thirard's atmospheric photography accentuates the creeping menace like mood, to the point that when we get to the last 15 minutes, nerves are already frayed and we then of course get what is arguably the greatest bath scene ever, and "that" ending...

When I first watched it back in 2008 it was on a poor quality DVD, but revisiting it on Blu-ray it still worked me over as the great suspense movie it is, forcing me to seek the solace of daylight ASAP. Great writing, great directing, great acting, the latter thriving due to Simone Signoret's dangerously simmering sexuality and Véra Clouzot's heartfelt vulnerability. It's one of the classic chillers of European cinema. And if you haven't seen it yet? Do what I did last night, get the Blu-ray, turn off the lights and just have a couple of candles flickering away in your peripheral vision. Maybe indulge in some stiff drinks like I did, and most of all, watch it on your own... 9/10