This takes place in a small French town in 1943. Someone called "The Raven" is sending poison pen letters to various people in the town. They're filled with half-truths or outright lies but it begins to affect people. Quickly the whole town falls apart--relationships are destroyed, mistrust and suspicion are all over and it finally leads to suicide and a murder.
Plotwise this may seem familiar to many but it's beautifully done. The film moves quickly, is well-acted and director Henri-Georges Clourot (who also directed the classic "Diabolique") does a wonderful job of visualizing the paranoia and hatred of the townspeople. The best sequence has a nurse running away when she thinks she is being chased by a crowd. Also this deals with sex outside marriage, pregnancy and abortion--taboo subject in 1943.
Believe it or not this was seen as Nazi propaganda in its day! It was shot while France was being occupied and shows a town full of violent, suspicious and angry people. French people thought it was a slap in the face to them--showing them as ignorant people who let lies destroy them. That seems pretty silly now.
It's now rightfully regarded as a classic. Well worth catching. I give it a 10.
Plotwise this may seem familiar to many but it's beautifully done. The film moves quickly, is well-acted and director Henri-Georges Clourot (who also directed the classic "Diabolique") does a wonderful job of visualizing the paranoia and hatred of the townspeople. The best sequence has a nurse running away when she thinks she is being chased by a crowd. Also this deals with sex outside marriage, pregnancy and abortion--taboo subject in 1943.
Believe it or not this was seen as Nazi propaganda in its day! It was shot while France was being occupied and shows a town full of violent, suspicious and angry people. French people thought it was a slap in the face to them--showing them as ignorant people who let lies destroy them. That seems pretty silly now.
It's now rightfully regarded as a classic. Well worth catching. I give it a 10.