1955 ‘Les diaboliques’ Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
In this classic of French suspense, the cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, becomes the target of a murder plot hatched by an unlikely duo -- his meek wife and the mistress he brazenly flaunts. The women, brought together by their mutual hatred for the man, pull off the crime but become increasingly unhinged by a series of odd occurrences after Delassalle's corpse mysteriously disappears.
Simone Signoret Véra Clouzot Paul Meurisse Charles Vanel Jean Brochard Pierre Larquey Michel Serrault Thérèse Dorny Noël Roquevert Yves-Marie Maurin Georges Poujouly Georges Chamarat Jacques Varennes Jean Lefebvre Robert Dalban Camille Guérini Jacques Hilling Jean Témerson Christian Brocard Jean Clarieux Henri Coutet Johnny Hallyday Henri Humbert Zappy Max Madeleine Suffel Jimmy Urbain
Blending together the elements of horror & mystery in a seamless manner, cleverly using its available resources to provide a sense of dread & uncertainty, and efficiently sustaining its tense atmosphere from start to finish, Diabolique (also known as Les Diaboliques) is one of the finest examples of its genre(s) that simply refuses to age despite being nearly 60 years old.
The story concerns the wife of a cruel headmaster who, along with the help of her husband's mistress, devises a plan to murder him, and after careful arrangement manages to successfully execute it without leaving behind any traces. However, things are ultimately set in motion when the body mysteriously disappears from site after which a number of strange occurrences ensue.
Ingeniously…
A thrilling classic that more than lives up to its name! Taut, suspenseful plot that's wickedly delicious!
Packed with powerhouse performances by Véra Clouzot, Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse!
Christina Delassalle (Véra Clouzot) may have something to hide but her see-through nightie reveals all!
Your viewing pleasure would be greatly enhanced if you avoid summaries, reviews and trailers!
The cold sweat, the uncontrollable trembling, the heavy breathing, the pressure on the chest, the burdensome weight felt by the knees, the inability to move, the faintness of the voice, the paralyzed mind. It’s fear, taking over. The artistry with which Henri-Georges Clouzot produces fear, sustains it and shows its crushing effects in Les Diaboliques elevate not only the film but the horror genre altogether. It is one of those rare occasions when the destabilizing nature of uncertainty, the sheer sense of dread and the spine-chilling force of fear are not taken for granted, but skillfully and vividly conveyed. Les Diaboliques is a film so effectively shrouded in mystery and delusion that it becomes a psychological assault of mind-boggling conviction.…
Wow.
I finished this film just moments ago, and I immediately want to go tell the world what I just saw. But I cant. Because at the end, a little message scrolled past that told me not to ruin the surprise. Diabolique is very interesting in the fact that a movie released in 1955, 58 years ago, is still making its audiences keep quiet about the ending. I have to thank the fans of the movie who didnt spoil this for me, and I will become one of those people who will carry the secret of this film to my grave.
Well, thats a little extreme, but I feel its justified in this context. The twist is simple, but planned…
Don't you believe in Hell?
-Christina Delassalle
My first film from director Henri-Georges Clouzot and with this one film he already rivals Alfred Hitchcock as a master film maker and master of suspense. For me to admit that, it's kinda huge. Hitchcock is my favorite director of that era hands down.
Diabolique is just that brilliant. Not just because of it's ending, plotting or execution, but it's brilliant as a whole. It manages to keep you glued to the screen and make you witness something for almost 2 hours without knowing you're witnessing it.
Part of my 2012-1932 project
If there has ever been a movie equipped with the ability to have the viewer(s) glued to the screen while chewing on their arms as they have no nails nor fingers left, it must be Les diaboliques.
I had no doubts about Clouzot's claim to the throne of French master of suspence, after having seen La salaire de la peur, but Les diaboliques is a step up in my book.
It takes its time, meticulously building up to the crime, and establishing motives. And although it's nowhere near boring, the true perfection is the second half, when the suspence is turned up to 11. Incredible tension, and here we're also treated to some great direction from Clouzot as well, especially in the build up to the penultimate scene. Masterful!
There is little in life I am sure of. My opinion changes like the weather. Of one thing I am certain though...
This movie has the greatest death scene.
With Diabolique, Clouzot seems to forget that suspense is led by the audiences care for the characters, which is something that he clearly understood when making The Wages of Fear. I honestly found the characters really quite weak in this one, and the entirety of their character can be explained within a short sentence for the majority. Take the two lead actresses, one is the nervous wife haunted by her subconscious after killing her abusive husband, other is cold blooded and doesn't care. There you go, the entirety of the two main characters in two simple sentences. It's honestly quite upsetting, considering that Clouzot's characters in The Wages of Fear are so excellently fleshed out and developed, whilst here they…
The whole time I was watching this I thought, "Wow, I'm surprised Hitchcock didn't make this." Turns out he missed out on buying the rights to the story by hours. Go figure.
Two schoolteacher's conspire to kill the school's headmaster and stage his death as a drowning. The story's a bit drab for the first thirty minutes or so, but everything really picks up once the body is not found in the location the women left it. Expect usual thrills on par with 60s Hitchcock. I had sort of narrowed down the explanation to two scenarios by the end and even though one of them was correct I was still impressed by the ending.
Spends the first hour building up the characters, and the second half leading us all over the place trying to figure out what the hell's going on. The final 15 minutes are nerve-wracking stuff: the ending isn't completely unseeable, but superb tension cuts through anything resembling flaws.
PRO
My August film for Ben'sSecretMovieExchange, was Henri-Georges Clouzet's 1955 film Les Diaboliques. A film high on my Flickchart chart list of shame, that I gladly would've removed sooner, if I could've found it. As it stands, Ben came through big time and sent me a digital copy. Thank you so much Ben, and my benefactor( assuming you aren't one in the same). August's theme was Whodunnit movies and that ended up being a good distraction for me. I watched the film and surmised it wasn't going to be a true whodunnit as the crime was laid out so early. Les Diaboliques still manages to shock and surprise. I was prepared for a character study or a film about remorse because…
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