Le corbeau (1943)

Director:

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Writers:

Louis Chavance (screenplay)
Henri-Georges Clouzot (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

28 September 1943 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Une petite ville comme il en est tant en France. [Original Version]

Plot:

French village doctor becomes target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion.

Plot Keywords:

Letter | Secret | Poison Pen Letter | Village | Doctor

Cast

Pierre Fresnay	...	Le docteur Rémy Germain
Ginette Leclerc	...	Denise Saillens
Micheline Francey	...	Laura Vorzet
Héléna Manson	...	Marie Corbin, l'infirmière
Jeanne Fusier-Gir	...	La mercière
Sylvie	...	La mère du cancéreux
Liliane Maigné	...	Rolande Saillens
Pierre Larquey	...	Michel Vorzet
Noël Roquevert	...	Saillens, la maître d'école
Bernard Lancret	...	Le substitut
Antoine Balpêtré	...	Le docteur Delorme (as Antoine Balpétré)
Jean Brochard	...	Bonnevie, le trésorier de l'hôpital
Pierre Bertin	...	Le sous-préfet
Louis Seigner	...	Bertrand
Roger Blin	...	François, le cancéreux du 13

Also Known As:

L'oeil du serpent (France) (working title)
L'oiseau noir (France) (working title)
Laura (France) (working title)
Lettres anonymes (France) (working title)
Maladie contagieuse (France) (working title)
The Raven

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Wide Range Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Montfort-l'Amaury, Yvelines, France

Company:

Continental Films

Trivia:

The screenplay is based on a true story which took place in Tulle (Corrèze, France) in the 1920s.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Le docteur Rémy Germain: [washes blood off his arms] I saved the mother.
Grand-mother: And the baby?
Le docteur Rémy Germain: No.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Delicatessen (1991)

A little-known gem

Although I pride myself on my knowledge of fine films, I must admit with a trace of embarrassment that I had never heard of this film before yesterday, when a brief blurb on the Turner Classic Movies schedule prompted me to watch it. My principal motivation for watching it was that it was directed by Clouzot, whose "Diabolique" and "Wages of Fear" are favorites of mine. What a find! While not quite the equal of "Diabolique," it comes very close, and it is the equal of anything by Hitchcock. Viewed simply as a thriller, it is marvelous, but it is much more than that. It is a profound character study and a howl of rage at the small-mindedness and pettiness of small town bourgeois communities. Considering that it was made during the German occupation, it can also be viewed as about as scathing a critique of Gestapo methods as a director could be expected to make without risking his life.

After I saw "The Sorrow and The Pity" in 1971, I held the belief that any French artist who continued to work during the occupation was a legitimate target for criticism. Since then I have moderated this view somewhat. After all, who among us can honestly say what we would do in a similar situation? While there is no excuse for collaboration, can an artist be criticized for staying in his country and making a protest in the only way he can? I think that is what Clouzot did here, and the result is a masterwork. I only wish this were more widely known and publicized. 10/10