A lieutenant, at the head of a commando ready to land in France, finds among his men a maquisard who had tried to kill him in the past.
Acting
Marchal and Carmet's simmering tension could cut steel.
Cinematography
Shadow-drenched bunkers that swallow hope whole.
Direction
Allégret's post-Liberation cynicism hits different.
Director
Yves Allégret
Georges Marchal
Lieutenant Claude Legrand
Jean Carmet
Durand, aka 'Durandal'
Simone Signoret
Lily, cabaret owner
André Valmy
Serge Duhamel
Jacqueline Pierreux
Simone
Dominique Nohain
Simon, aka 'Chouchou'
Marcel Lupovici
Michel Courant
Jean Pommier
Denis
Maurice Régamey
Martin
Fernand René
Father Poilu
Jean-François Martial
German officer
René Clermont
One of the commandos
Joé Davray
Little girl
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in 1946, this was among the first French films to confront collaboration and resistance with moral murkiness rather than heroic myth. Audiences weren't ready.
Simone Signoret's cabaret scenes were added late when producers panicked about the film's relentless grimness. She steals every second.
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