UK Information » UK Cinemas » Cinema Trailers » Les Diaboliques
Les Diaboliques
Now in cinemas - Coming Soon to Cinemas - Newest Trailers - All trailers
Les Diaboliques
| Duration | 114 |
| Year | 1955 |
| Categories | Horror |
| Cast | Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel |
| Written By | Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jerome Geronimi, Rene Masson, Frederic Grendel |
| Directed By | Henri-Georges Clouzot |
| Produced By | Filmsonsor (Paris) |
| Distributed By | BFI |
| Film Details |
In the most Hitchcockian of all the films made by the French master of suspense - like Vertigo, it was adapted from a novel by Boileau and Narcejac - the wife and the likewise abused mistress of the tyrannical headmaster of a seedy boys' boarding school conspire to put an end to his callous brutality. Taut as a mantrap, the meticulous script provides plenty of tension, surprises and shocks, but what really distinguishes the film is Clouzot's beady eye for details both atmospheric and telling: a swimming pool clogged with debris, rancid school meals, the dismal efforts of the staff to curry favour. Much imitated but seldom bettered, the film can also lay claim to a clutch of excellent performances; not just Véra Clouzot, Simone Signoret and Paul Meurisse as the misbegotten ménage-à-trois, but a young Michel Serrault as a teacher and the inimitable Charles Vanel as a canny detective.