A cursed box, a dead bride, and French melodrama so extra it circles back to genius.
A rich girl is in love with her father-in-law 's librarian. The wealthy man wants her to marry a military man but she's not prepared to accept it. She rebels and marries the poor guy. This young man has a cousin, who seems secretly in love with him but in fact we 'll never know what she feels. This mysterious sad woman, always dressed in black, gives her relative a strange box which seems to be a bad luck charm. The hand of fate seems on the newlyweds now:the husband involuntarily causes a car crash: his wife is killed.
Costume
Sylvie's perpetual mourning black is entire character development.
Acting
Reggiani's descent from romantic lead to accidental killer.
Director
Serge Debecque
Serge Reggiani
Jean Ménétrier
Andrée Clément
Françoise
Pierre Renoir
Monsieur Bardolas
Sylvie
Amélie
Jean Parédès
Montboron
Pierre Sergeol
Poncet, insurer
Maurice Schutz
Old peasant
Louis Florencie
Pierre Calmiran, insurer
Robert Le Béal
Gérard Tibur
Guy Favières
Françoise's father
Marcel Vibert
Doctor
Marcel Charvey
Real estate agent
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Serge Reggiani was primarily a singer; this rare leading role captures his wounded, poetic quality before he abandoned film for music entirely.
The 'cursed object' trope here reflects post-war European fatalism—audiences found comfort in destiny being to blame, not human failing.
FR
