Diabolique (1955)
"Les diaboliques" (original title)

The wife of a cruel headmaster and his mistress conspire to kill him, but after the murder is committed, his body disappears, and strange events begin to plague the two women.

Director:

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Writers:

Pierre Boileau (novel), Thomas Narcejac (novel),

Stars:

Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simone Signoret	...	Nicole Horner
Véra Clouzot	...	Christina Delassalle (as Vera Clouzot)
Paul Meurisse	...	Michel Delassalle
Charles Vanel	...	Alfred Fichet, le commissaire
Jean Brochard	...	Plantiveau, le concierge
Thérèse Dorny	...	Mme. Herboux
Michel Serrault	...	M. Raymond, le surveillant
Georges Chamarat	...	Dr. Loisy
Robert Dalban	...	Le garagiste
Camille Guérini	...	Le photographe (as Camille Guerini)
Jacques Hilling	...	L'employé de la morgue
Jean Lefebvre	...	Le soldat
Aminda Montserrat	...	Madame Plantiveau
Jean Témerson	...	Le garçon d'hôtel (as Jean Temerson)
Jacques Varennes	...	M. Bridoux, professeur

Storyline

The wife and mistress of a sadistic boarding school headmaster plot to kill him. They drown him in the bathtub and dump the body in the school's filthy swimming pool... but when the pool is drained, the body has disappeared - and subsequent reported sightings of the headmaster slowly drive his 'killers' (and the audience) up the wall with almost unbearable suspense...

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Plot Keywords:

headmaster | mistress | swimming pool | lodging house | teacher | 

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Taglines:

Don't Reveal the Ending!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

21 November 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Devils

Filming Locations:

Rue Jean Mermoz, L'Étang-la-Ville, Yvelines, France.

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmsonor, Vera Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (A.R.T.E.C.)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last film of Jean Témerson before his death.

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Goofs

After MIchel has drunk the sedative and lies on the bed, Christina pulls his shoes off and drops them on the floor. When Nicole is filling the bathtub, she tells Christina to "take his shoes off." When the two women carry Michel from the bed to the bathroom, he is wearing his shoes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Plantiveau, le concierge: Headmaster!
Michel Delassalle: Yes.
Plantiveau, le concierge: Isn't it time I rang the bell?
Michel Delassalle: It's okay. I'll unload the car myself.

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Connections

Referenced in Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007)

User Reviews

Oh wow... this is it!

This is not a legend : after reading Pierre Boileau's novel, Alfred Hitchcock phone the editor in the morning to buy the story for making a film. But another great master, Henri-Georges Clouzot, had phone 30 minutes earlier. Mister Hitchcock was angry! But Hitch couldn't have done better than Clouzot. This is P-E-R-F-E-C-T! The black and white, the dialogues, the acting and even the reclusive French scool of the 1950's. And for the suspense... well every viewer of IMDB had said the same things I could said. So, Diaboliques is the best suspense thriller of all time, and also one of the best movie ever made. Please, I really said please, don't ever watch the remake with Isabelle Adjani and Sharon Stone. There are certains movies that you can't make two times. Like all the Hitchcock and Clouzot films, for example...