64 Days to Halloween- 1955 Diabolique

Over the next 100 days, I will present one movie of significances in horror, suspense or thrillers for each year from 1919 to 2018. The next film presented here is the 1955 mystery thriller "Diabolique" starring Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Paul Meurisse and directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot.

Diabolique- (1955)

Dir- Henri-Georges Clouzot

One of the most influential horror/thrillers of its day, Diabolique pretty much set all the standards by which most thrillers often imitate. The movie is set in France at a boarding school where the tyrannical Headmaster maintains an iron grip on both his students and employees. His battered wife and his former mistress both conspire to murder him and get rid of his body during a student holiday. They travel to the mistress's hometown and lure the headmaster to his wife where she poisons and drowns him in the bathtub. They then bring the body back to the school and dump it in the neglected pool, hoping to use his intoxication as an alibi for his death. A few days later the pool is drained, and the body is found to be missing. In the course of the film, subtle clues are found which lead the two to believe that the headmaster is either still alive or that someone knows of their deed. A retired investigator who wishes to find the real answers to the mystery then follows the wife. The finale is both shocking and well worth the wait. Over the many years since its release, many films have imitated and ripped off the style of Diabolique. The style and overall technique are very reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock film, so much so that Hitchcock tried unsuccessfully to remake Diabolique. One of the most influential thrillers of the period, Diabolique remains a great film that would inspire so many movies and directors for years to come. Remade several times over the years, most recently in 1996 with Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani, Kathy Bates and Chazz Palminteri.