Catherine, 18, loved Jean, a young accountant, who loved her in return. And yet, one morning, two policemen find their dead bodies on a stretch of waste ground. The case is obvious: the two young people have killed themselves. But why? Chief Inspector Ernest Plonche, feeling upset, decides to investigate personally.
Acting
Louis Jouvet's weary, world-weary Plonche carries every scene.
Direction
Lefranc balances police procedural with bitter romantic tragedy.
Writing
Dialogue that stings—society's cruelty dressed in politeness.
Director
Guy Lefranc
Louis Jouvet
Inspector Ernest Plonche
Daniel Gélin
Jean Bompart
Dany Robin
Catherine Mareuil
Georges Chamarat
Auguste Bompart
Yolande Laffon
Madame de Mareuil
Renée Passeur
Léa
Catherine Erard
Odile de Frontin
Pierre Moncorbier
The valet of the Mareuils
Marcel Herrand
Charles Mareuil
Catherine Arley
A guest (uncredited)
Daniel Ceccaldi
The soldier who shoots badly at the funfair (uncredited)
René de Obaldia
The orderly of the P.J. (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of 1950s French cinema's obsession with 'polars'—crime films used to dissect postwar social fractures. This one dares to make the detective the tragic figure.
Dany Robin was only 19, already typecast as doomed ingenues. Her chemistry with Gélin was so convincing audiences wrote letters begging for a happier ending.
FR
