IMDb > Les diaboliques (1955)
Les diaboliques
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Les diaboliques (1955) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 3)
Les diaboliques (1955) -- The wife of a cruel headmaster and his mistress conspire to kill him, but after the murder is committed, his body disappears, and strange events begin to plague the two women.
Les diaboliques (1955) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Pierre Boileau (novel) and
Thomas Narcejac (novel) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Diabolique on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
21 November 1955 (USA) more
Tagline:
See it, be amazed at it, but... BE QUIET ABOUT IT! (original Finnish poster tagline) more
Plot:
The wife of a cruel headmaster and his mistress conspire to kill him, but after the murder is committed, his body disappears, and strange events begin to plague the two women. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
3 wins more
NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno (Review)
 (From SoundOnSight. 6 November 2009, 10:26 PM, PST)

Ciff 2009: The winners! And our reviews
 (From Roger Ebert's Blog. 22 October 2009, 6:39 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Macabre and depressing story makes for somber viewing more (102 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Simone Signoret ... Nicole Horner
Véra Clouzot ... Christina Delassalle (as Vera Clouzot)
Paul Meurisse ... Michel Delassalle
Charles Vanel ... Alfred Fichet, le commissaire
Jean Brochard ... Plantiveau, le concierge
Pierre Larquey ... M.Drain, professeur

Michel Serrault ... M. Raymond, le surveillant
Thérèse Dorny ... Mme. Herboux
Noël Roquevert ... M. Herboux
Yves-Marie Maurin ... Moinet, une jeune Moynet
Georges Poujouly ... Soudieu, un élève
Georges Chamarat ... Dr. Loisy
Jacques Varennes ... M. Bridoux, professeur
Robert Dalban ... Le garagiste
Jean Lefebvre ... Le soldat
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Diabolique (USA)
Les Diaboliques: The Fiends (UK)
The Devils (USA) (TV title)
more
Runtime:
114 min | UK:92 min | USA:116 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Finland:(Banned) (1966) | Finland:K-18 (1968) | Finland:K-18 (1956) | South Korea:15 | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | Norway:16 | Italy:VM14 | UK:X (original rating) (1955) | UK:15 (re-rating) (1985)
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The film is based on Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac's novel "Celle qui n'était plus" (She Who Was No More). Alfred Hitchcock also attempted to buy the rights to this novel; Boileau and Narcejac subsequently wrote "D'Entre les Morts" (From Among the Dead) especially for Hitchcock, who filmed it as Vertigo (1958). more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the end when Michel kneels over the body you can see his wet footprint from a previous take. more
Quotes:
Christina Delassalle: Don't you believe in Hell?
Nicole Horner: Not since I was seven.
Christina Delassalle: I do.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003) (TV) more

FAQ

How does the movie end?
What does "Les Diaboliques" mean?
Why does Nicole tell Christina to take off Michel's shoes before they carry him into the bath? Hadn't Christina already taken them off?
more
40 out of 61 people found the following comment useful.
Macabre and depressing story makes for somber viewing, 29 October 1998
Author: Yngvar Myrvold from Tonsberg, Norway

Director Henri Georges Clouzot must not have had a sunny disposition. This movie is painful to watch, the angst-ridden actors bite and hack each other to bloody pieces, and the camera contemplates the action like a vulture, waiting for raw carcasses to dismember. All this, without really showing any violence. It's all in the mind.

Les Diaboliques is shot in black and white, but as I remember it, it was all murky grey. Maybe it was just the worn-out print, maybe it was intentional, but it really worked on me. Like the constant drizzle of October rain, the dirty, bedraggled schoolchildren, the delapidated buildings, the rotten school-lunches! I felt deeply suicidal!

The movie is full of scary scenes, of something unspeakably bad waiting to happen to the "murderesses". The long-awaited bathroom climax is not the most scary part, yet it is a welcome release for all the pent-up emotion, and Vera Clouzot truly appears to be near death. Her features twisted and tortured,her expressive body wretched and thin like a concentration-camp prisoner. She looks to be in real pain.

Les Diaboliques means The Devilish, and the Devil is clearly at work here. I have seldom felt a stronger presence of evil, and Clouzot manages this feat without a single concession to the bloodbath that is the modern horror-movie. This one has influenced everything from "the Exorcist" to "Rosemary's baby", yet still feels like an original, subtle classic. I loved it.

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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Les diaboliques (1955)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Can someone give me the entire synopsis? (SPoilers hopefully =) ) luckydragon88
Not that my mind is in the gutter, but... thirteenpunkemos
Ending (Spoiler, don't read if you haven't seen it) antoniost
Incredibly suspenseful movie, unfortunately... (Warning: SPOLIERS) heykincaid
Is everyone really buying this??? (SPOILER ALERT) Qanqor
Lead actress Lena looks SO much like Garbo!! bettiegia
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