Port of Marseille, France, recently liberated from the German yoke. Caught as stowaways aboard a ship, Manon, a young woman who was accused of collaborating with the Nazis, and Robert, a freedom fighter who saved her from reprisals, tell the captain about the many challenges they have had to face in order to survive.
Direction
Clouzot's surgical precision with moral rot.
Cinematography
Shadowy port corridors and blinding desert wastes.
Acting
Cécile Aubry's feral, desperate Manon.
Director
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Serge Reggiani
Léon Lescaut
Michel Auclair
Robert Dégrieux
Cécile Aubry
Manon Lescaut
Andrex
Smuggler
Raymond Souplex
M. Paul
André Valmy
Lt. Besnard
Henri Vilbert
Ship Captain
Héléna Manson
Gossipy Woman
Simone Valère
Isé
Gabrielle Dorziat
Saleswoman
Dora Doll
Juliette
Gabrielle Fontan
Mme. Agnès
Rosy Varte
Edmond Ardisson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Clouzot made this after being blacklisted for 'Le Corbeau' — his comeback is basically a confession about French complicity.
The 1949 Cannes jury invented a special prize just to snub this film politically — it won Best Director anyway.
FR
