Les sorcières de Salem (1957)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Raymond Rouleau

Writers:

Arthur Miller (play)
Jean-Paul Sartre (writer)

Release Date:

26 April 1957 (France)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

Salem, 1692. Industrious farmer, John Proctor, has twice made love to 17-year-old Abigail, a youth he and his wife have taken in...

Plot Keywords:

Witchcraft | Minister | Salem Massachusetts | Possession | Christian

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Simone Signoret	...	Elisabeth Proctor
Yves Montand	...	John Proctor
Mylène Demongeot	...	Abigail Williams
Alfred Adam	...	Thomas Putnam
Pierre Larquey	...	Francis Nurse
Jean Debucourt	...	Reverend Paris
Jean Gaven	...	Peter Corey
Jeanne Fusier-Gir	...	Martha Corey
Françoise Lugagne	...	Jane Putnam
Coutan-Lambert	...	Rebecca Nurse
Aribert Grimmer	...	Gilles Corey (as A. Grimmer)
Pascale Petit	...	Mary Warren
Yves Brainville	...	Hale
Michel Piccoli	...	James Putnam
Alexandre Rignault	...	Willard

Also Known As:

Hexenjagd (East Germany)
The Crucible (USA)
The Witches of Salem

Runtime:

145 min

Country:

France | East Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Films Borderie

Trivia:

The first film version of the play. It was made in East Berlin, and in the French language, because American studios were terrified of filming a play by a recently blacklisted author which implicitly criticized the Joseph McCarthy "witch hunts" for Communists.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Crucible (1980) (TV)

A hanged man does not bleed

Everybody knows Arthur Miller's "the crucible" ;few people outside France know that,long before the excellent version starring Daniel Day-Lewis,the play was filmed in France.One should note that it was first performed on stage ,featuring roughly the same actors,directed by Raymond Rouleau ,a man who was primarily a theatre man (and also a good actor :"Falbalas" "L'Assassinat du Père Noel") So "Les Sorcières de Salem " was the French title (= Salem Witches).Critics were divided on the Montand /Signoret's performance;historian Jean Tulard goes as far as to write that it was their fault if the film was not successful.But Jean Tulard is a right-wing writer whereas Signoret and Montand were at this time securely under the influence of communism.This film was for them a political gesture.

But Miller's play was so strong it survived the dated events it actually depicted (McCarthyism).It has become the symbol of personal freedom,freedom of thought.Informing and signing papers abound along the drama and could not fool the audience about what Miller was actually saying.

Yves Montand's performance was somewhat dwarfed by Day-Lewis ' sensational portrayal of Proctor.But on the other hand,Mylene Demongeot is dazzlingly talented as Abigail .Sensual,maleficent,she steals every scene she is in;she should have become one of the greatest French actresses but it was not to be :she got lost in mediocrities such as OSS 117 or Fantomas.Too bad .

As the precedent user has pointed out,Rouleau's directing was influenced by Dreyer and particularly "Dies Irae".Rouleau plays the part of judge Danforth.