Captain Justin Mollenard works for a company that sells armaments to the Far East. After an eventful stay in Shanghai, where he and his cargo are the victim of a malicious attack, he returns to his hometown of Dunkirk. Mollenard receives a frosty welcome from his wife Mathilde, who resents the way in which he has neglected his family for so many years. Mollenard’s only wish is to get back to sea as soon as he can, but a sudden heart-attack leaves him paralysed and entirely in his wife’s power...
Acting
Gabrielle Dorziat's smile could freeze hell.
Direction
Siodmak's shadows prefigure his Hollywood noir mastery.
Director
Robert Siodmak
Harry Baur
le capitaine Mollenard
Albert Préjean
Kerrotret
Gabrielle Dorziat
Mme Mollenard
Gina Manès
Marina
Ludmilla Pitoëff
Marie Mollenard
Liliane Lesaffre
l'entraîneuse
Marcel Dalio
Happy Jones
Maurice Baquet
le joueur d'harmonica
Jacques Louvigny
Truffier
Robert Lynen
Jean Mollenard
Arthur Devère
Joseph
Habib Benglia
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Harry Baur died in 1943 after Gestapo torture; his frailty here carries unbearable retrospective weight.
Made as Europe armed for war, the arms-dealer protagonist implicates French complicity in global violence.
FR
