Les Diaboliques (“The Demons” or “The Devils”), aka “Diabolique’, is a renowned French mystery/suspense film of 1954, with a surprise, ‘shocking’ ending, which indeed was a surprise for us last week; although in retrospect, maybe it shouldn’t have been. The story is clever , intricate and gripping, as any good suspense film should be. At the conclusion, we are warned not to reveal what happened to prospective viewers. That seems fair, as the suspense and the resolution are what make this such an enjoyable classic, so I won’t include any spoilers herein.
Les Diaboliques was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. I have only seen one of his other films [Wages of Fear (1953)], but this is reputed to be his best. Clouzot moves the story along and gets excellent performances from his cast, which includes his wife, Véra Clouzot, as the pretty but sickly Christina, hapless owner of and teacher in a dreary, second rate boarding school, run by her flinty, boorish, sadistic husband Delasalle (Paul Meurisse). Simone Signoret, France’s most revered actress of the time, plays Delasalle’s blonde, fleshy mistress, Nicole, another teacher at the school.
Delasalle enjoys disrespecting his wife; one early scene shows him humiliating and torturing Christina, by publically demanding that she consume a nasty piece of fish. He flaunts his affair with Nicole before her and everyone else. But he’s cruel to Nicole as well. Nicole is made of sterner stuff than Christina, and she’s not going to take that crap. She cajols the meek Christina into a plot to murder the jerk. Seems like a pretty good plot, too. But then, the corpse vanishes, strange things happen, and the mystery and suspense take over. For 1954 audiences, the last part of the film was almost too suspenseful to bear. Bear it they, did, however, as this movie was an international hit. For a modern audience, the suspense still works, but I doubt you will find it quite so shocking.
There are also humorous bits, primarily supplied by the supporting actors, including a retired police commissioner, now private detective, in a great performance by Charles Vanel, in worn trenchcoat, with omnipresent cigar, and seemingly inconsequential questions. Sound familiar? Peter Falk’s Colombo character appears to have modeled on this role.
I found Les Diaboliques to be a very watchable film, and entertaining. It’s kind of a cross between Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock. Indeed, Hitchcock was interested in making the movie but got to the author too late; Clouzot beat him to it. Just as well - it’s hard to see how Hitch could have improved it. Yes, it has subtitles, but they are so well done, they’ll disappear from your consciousness within minutes (unless, you’re an extremely slow reader, I suppose).
I recommend this movie highly.
(Available on DVD and for Netflix streaming. )
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