Les orgueilleux (1953)

The first to die in an epidemic of meningitis in Vera Cruz is a French tourist. His wife Nellie, detached and indifferent, feels little grief and realizes that her coldness is her own doom.... See full summary »

Directors:

Yves Allégret, Rafael E. Portas

Writers:

Jean-Paul Sartre (story), Yves Allégret (adaptation),

Stars:

Michèle Morgan, Gérard Philipe, Carlos López Moctezuma

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Michèle Morgan	...	Nellie
Gérard Philipe	...	Georges
Carlos López Moctezuma	...	Doctor
Michèle Cordoue	...	Anna
André Toffel	...	Tom
Arturo Soto Rangel
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Josefina Escobedo
Jaime Fernández
Chel López
Víctor Manuel Mendoza	...	Don Rodrigo
Lucrecia Muñoz
Beatriz Ramos
Guillermo Segura
Salvador Terroba

Storyline

The first to die in an epidemic of meningitis in Vera Cruz is a French tourist. His wife Nellie, detached and indifferent, feels little grief and realizes that her coldness is her own doom. Over the next two days, she is attracted to George, a local drunk who does odd jobs for brothels and dances grotesquely for tourists in exchange for drinks. George has his own dark secret, a tragedy he caused that leaves him with a death wish. In assisting the local doctor to cope with the epidemic, these two emotional cripples enable each other to rediscover reasons to live and to love.

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Plot Keywords:

tourist | epidemic | brothel | meningitis | prostitute | 

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Taglines:

A film of mood and character...never were lovers so charged with tension and torment...so fearful of their own passions

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France Mexico

Language:

French Spanish

Release Date:

25 November 1953 (France)

Also Known As:

The Proud Ones

Filming Locations:

Alvarado, Veracruz, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chrysage Films, Compagnie Industrielle et Commerciale Cinématographique (CICC), Producciones IENA

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Spoofed in Ratataa (1956)

User Reviews

Top rank

I saw this movie when it first came out, have not seen it since, but have remembered it vividly all these years. Seldom, if ever, has a film held me riveted the way this one did. Of course, I would have paid to see Michele Morgan read the Manhattan phone book, especially attired in a slip (no, I am not a lezzie). The mood created by the meningitis epidemic in Mexico and the sexual tension, created mostly by Morgan, are more enveloping than real life. This remains one of my top 10 - perhaps top 5 - favorite movies of all time. For the life of me, I cannot understand why there is neither a VHS nor a DVD version available, apparently anywhere. What can be done to rectify this situation? For years, I moaned about the lack of a DVD of The Informer. Now, one is available but only as part of the overpriced John Ford collection of some of his lesser films.

Jen