Les Diaboliques. Susan Hayward (French Film Guide)

Hugely enjoyable and exciting, long awaited book by top world authority on French cinema. This is the first book to focus on this very contemporary film. 'Les Diaboliques' is often shown and is easily available on DVD and video. 'Les Diaboliques' was a top grossing film in 1955. Clouzot shrouded his film in mystery and also radically changed the original story of the novel, heterosexualising the original lesbian plot. 'Les Diaboliques' still intrigues perhaps due to its excessive ambiguities and numerous plot twists that make it a 'film noir' to end all 'films noir', and not least the great performance of Simone Signoret. In this enjoyable and challenging 'Cine-File', Hayward sets 'Les Diaboliques' against the political culture of its time and demonstrates the importance of Clouzot as a master of the thriller genre. She gives an illuminating in-depth textual analysis of the film and presents a comparison with its US remake.