The film consists of seven roughly 15 minute episodes, each showing what will happen if one or more of the Ten Commandments will be broken: Jérome Chambard is warned that he will lose his job if he continues to swear; Françoise Beaufort enamored of a stripper calls on her only to find her married to a janitor who doesn't know what kind of dancing his wife performs; Denis, a Jesuit novice, leaves the order to avenge his sister's suicide, which was provoked by Garigny, who seduced her into prostitution and drug addiction; Philip buys a necklace for Micheline though he is bored with her; a young man find out that his real mother is not Madeleine, but actress Clarisse Ardant; Didier Marin, cashier of a bank, was fired by his boss; the Devil appears as a serpent for Jérome Chambard and the bishop are eating.
Direction
Duvivier's sardonic eye treats sin like cabaret.
Acting
Delon, Aznavour, Darrieux — French cinema's golden age on parade.
Writing
Episodic structure keeps commandments fresh, never preachy.
Director
Julien Duvivier
Claude Rich
Le diable - Voix Off (non crédité)
Françoise Arnoul
Françoise Beaufort
Charles Aznavour
Denis Mayeux
Jean-Claude Brialy
Didier Marin
Danielle Darrieux
Clarisse Ardan
Alain Delon
Pierre Messager
Fernandel
Dieu / God
Mel Ferrer
Philip Allan
Micheline Presle
Micheline Allan
Madeleine Robinson
Germaine Messager
Dany Saval
Tania
Michel Simon
Jérôme Chambard
Lino Ventura
Garigny
Georges Wilson
Marcel Messager
Louis de Funès
Antoine Vaillant, l'escroc
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Duvivier made this after returning from Hollywood exile, reconnecting with the Poetic Realism style he pioneered in the 1930s.
The serpent dinner scene was reportedly improvised after the prop snake arrived damaged — Duvivier loved the surreal energy.
FR
