La vérité sur Bébé Donge (1952)

Francois Donge, a wealthy manufacturer, is fighting death at hospital. He officially suffers from a food poisoning. But actually, his wife Bebe deliberately poisoned him. Flashback: ten ... See full summary »

Director:

Henri Decoin (as Henry Decoin)

Writers:

Maurice Aubergé (screenplay, adaptation and dialogue), Georges Simenon (novel)

Stars:

Danielle Darrieux, Jean Gabin, Jacques Castelot

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Danielle Darrieux	...	Elisabeth 'Bébé' Donge
Jean Gabin	...	François Donge
Jacques Castelot	...	Docteur Jalabert
Daniel Lecourtois	...	Georges Donge
Madeleine Lambert	...	Madame d'Onneville
Juliette Faber	...	L'infirmière
Jacqueline Porel	...	Françoise
Gaby Bruyère	...	La fille dans le taxi (as Gaby Bruyere)
Meg Lemonnier	...	La secrétaire
Alinda Kristensen	...	Madame Flament
Yvonne Claudie	...	Une joueuse de bridge
Jean-Marc Tennberg	...	Le liftier (as J.M. Tennberg)
Marcel André	...	Le juge d'instruction
Claude Génia	...	Jeanne Donge
Gabrielle Dorziat	...	Madame D'Ortemont

Storyline

Francois Donge, a wealthy manufacturer, is fighting death at hospital. He officially suffers from a food poisoning. But actually, his wife Bebe deliberately poisoned him. Flashback: ten years before, Francois meets Bebe. He is already wealthy, and has many affairs. She is an idealistic young woman. He is thinking of taking a wife, she is looking for love...

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Plot Keywords:

bridge the card game | infidelity | remorse | double wedding | husband wife relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

13 February 1952 (France)

Also Known As:

Die Wahrheit über unsere Ehe

Filming Locations:

Draguignan, Var, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Voyage à travers le cinéma français (2016)

User Reviews

Anatomy of a murder.

Ambitious,not always successful,this Decoin film is adapted from George Simenon. It's a long flashback,mixing present and past with occasional gaps.The black and white cinematography is thoroughly mastered:Danielle Darrieux, all dressed in black(and beautiful), like a death angel, visits her dying husband with a pallid face in a white room.Another shot, before the end, shows a car disappearing in the darkest night.

Bebe Donge is a romantic woman, a "Madame Bovary",who believes in true love. She does not realize that, in the bourgeois world which she lives in, these values are no longer in use.Her husband (Gabin) is cynical and does not even try to hide his lovers.In 1951,for the bourgeoisie,divorce was unthinkable:the wedding ceremony, with great pomp meant, for these hypocrites, that what the lord joined together, the world must not undo. So Darrieux ,who was a charming young woman, becomes a murderer. There was nothing to suggest that such a disaster might happen .

Although not as good as "non coupable" with Michel Simon,"la vérité sur Bébé Donge" is eminently watchable and will reward you as much as, say, a Godard movie.Or surely more...