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Diabolique (1955)
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Cast: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse
Genre: Suspense, Drama
Language: French
Diabolique, it's a good one! I was intently interested in the premise with it's tight focusing on the two women who are employed at an all boys school in France. The old, run down school buildings were effective for this kind of film. The setting lends ambiance and foreboding just by the sheer look of the place. The story is tightly focused on two women who are romantically linked to the abusive head school master...and you can guess what happens to him!
I like films that spend time on character development and especially films where the characters then determine the story line. And Diabolique did just that.
The casting choice of the two women worked well as they were diametrical diverse with the blonde being physical larger and more aggressive (I guess that's why she smoked all the time)...whilst the brunette was petite, quiet, more passive...and had a fragile heart (it's probably a good thing she didn't smoke.) And her weak heart is one of the aspects that contribute to the story, but I bet you already guessed that.
No need for captions, that screen shot speaks volumes.
I'm not sure why it's tagged horror at IMDB. I thought it might be like The Uninvited or The Haunting but it wasn't, it's more like a Hitchcock film. That's why I tagged it as suspense drama.
Diabolique (1955)
Cast: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse
Genre: Suspense, Drama
Language: French
"The wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi."
Diabolique, it's a good one! I was intently interested in the premise with it's tight focusing on the two women who are employed at an all boys school in France. The old, run down school buildings were effective for this kind of film. The setting lends ambiance and foreboding just by the sheer look of the place. The story is tightly focused on two women who are romantically linked to the abusive head school master...and you can guess what happens to him!
I like films that spend time on character development and especially films where the characters then determine the story line. And Diabolique did just that.
The casting choice of the two women worked well as they were diametrical diverse with the blonde being physical larger and more aggressive (I guess that's why she smoked all the time)...whilst the brunette was petite, quiet, more passive...and had a fragile heart (it's probably a good thing she didn't smoke.) And her weak heart is one of the aspects that contribute to the story, but I bet you already guessed that.
No need for captions, that screen shot speaks volumes.