A poisoned horse, a vengeful cuckold, and the wrong corpse—French farce at its most deliciously cruel.
A jealous wealthy landlord intercepts a letter to his wife written by her cousin. He decides to take revenge by drugging the young man's horse, but it is his own son who will be the victim of the accident.
Writing
Perfectly constructed ironic tragedy—every setup pays off catastrophically.
Acting
Dumesnil's jealous simmer builds to magnificent self-own.
Direction
Mathot balances farce and genuine dread like a tightrope walker.
Director
Léon Mathot
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Post-war French cinema loved exposing bourgeois hypocrisy; this 1947 gem arrived when audiences craved dark laughs about failing institutions.
Mireille Balin, once a major pre-war star, saw her career decline after alleged collaboration; this role was part of her attempted comeback.
FR
