This Man Must Die

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This Man Must Die
DVD cover
Directed by	Claude Chabrol
Produced by	André Génovès
Written by	Nicholas Blake (novel) Claude Chabrol Paul Gégauff
Starring	Michel Duchaussoy Caroline Cellier Jean Yanne
Music by	Pierre Jansen
Cinematography	Jean Rabier
Editing by	Jacques Gaillard
Distributed by	Allied Artists Pictures Corporation (USA)
Release date(s)	September 5, 1969
Running time	110 mins
Country	France Italy
Language	French
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IMDb profile

This Man Must Die (French: Que la bête meure) is a 1969 French / Italian crime drama film directed by Claude Chabrol. The story is based on a 1938 novel by Cecil Day-Lewis, writing as Nicholas Blake, The Beast Must Die.

[edit] Plot

Charles Thénier's nine year old son is run over by a reckless driver. He vows to have his revenge, yet the police investigation is fruitless. Partly following his hunches and partly by chance he discovers actress Hélène Lanson is the owner of the car. He seduces her under a false name as part of his revenge plan, but loses courage to carry it through as he develops feelings for her.

He finds out shortly after that the real killer is her brother-in-law Paul Decourt, a man detestable even to his own family. While Charles is left with conflicting thoughts as to whether or not kill him, Paul's teenage son, Phillipe, confides in him his own wishes to see his father dead.