Les Diaboliques (film)

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This article is about the 1954 film. For the 1996 version see Diabolique (1996 film).
Les Diaboliques (Diabolique)
Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Produced by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Written by Pierre Boileau
Thomas Narcejac
Starring Simone Signoret
Véra Clouzot
Paul Meurisse
Charles Vanel
Music by George Van Parys
Release date(s) Flag of France 29 January 1954
Flag of the United States 21 November 1955
Running time 107 min
Language French
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Les Diaboliques (1954) is a black-and-white film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Simone Signoret and Véra Clouzot. The title translates as 'The Devils'. It was called The Fiends when released in the UK, while the US release is entitled Diabolique. It is based on the novel Celle qui n'était plus (She Who Was No More) by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac.

The film created a sensation on its original release. It has often been likened to the films of Alfred Hitchcock in that it is still creepy even when one has seen it and knows the ending. The end credit contains an early example of an "anti-spoiler message", requesting the audience not to disclose the plot to others who have not seen the film.

The film gained additional press when only five years after its release, Véra Clouzot died of a heart attack at age 46, similar to the way her character in the film died.

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[edit] Trivia

  • This film was #49 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
  • It was remade in 1996 with Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani in the lead roles.
  • It was remade in 1974 as a made-for-TV film called "Reflections of Murder" with Tuesday Weld, Joan Hackett and Sam Waterston in the lead roles.
  • Many sources say that Alfred Hitchcock missed out on purchasing the rights to the Boileau and Narcejac novel by just a few hours, Clouzot getting to the authors first. François Truffaut, in his book-length interview Hitchcock/Truffaut (1967), suggested that Boileau and Narcejac then wrote D'Entre des Morts specifically for Hitchcock, who adapted the latter book for Vertigo (1958). However, Narcejac later refuted Truffaut's statement.
  • The film Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, directed by Robert Aldrich, shares common themes with Les Diaboliques in that two people try to drive the third character mad by staging a man's (fake) death; in the Aldrich film, Joseph Cotten plays the paramour in cahoots with Olivia de Havilland, as both try to commit Bette Davis' character to a sanitarium.

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