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Bête Humaine (La)

Country: France, Language: French, 100 mins

Original Title

Judas was a Woman
  • Director: Jean Renoir
  • Writer: Émile Zola; Denise Leblond
  • Producer: Raymond Hakim; Robert Hakim

CGiii Comment

A steaming pile of crap...it's about steam trains and a woman who hates men.

Renoir carries a lot of clout...not here, ham-acted (even by the maestro himself) and an overly simplistic rendering of a complex Zola story.

If you like old trains - then, you'll like the train bits... 


Trailer...

 

The(ir) Blurb...

Jacques Lantier is a train engineer who is prone to violent seizures, a condition he attributes to his forefathers' habit of excessive drinking. Roubaud is a train conductor on the same railroad that Lantier works on, married to the much younger Séverine. When Roubaud catches wind of his wife's affair with her godfather, the wealthy M. Grandmorin, he kills him during a train journey in a fit of jealousy. He makes sure that Séverine is also present, making her an accomplice to murder. Lantier, despite having witnessed them quite clearly in the train corridor, hides the fact during the investigation as he is attracted to Séverine. They both begin an affair, all the while Roubaud becomes increasingly withdrawn and starts to gamble. Séverine urges Lantier to kill her husband so that they would be free but she is unaware of Lantier's unfortunate condition.

Cast & Characters

Jean Gabin as Jacques Lantier;
Simone Simon as Severine Roubaud;
Fernand Ledoux as Roubaud;
Blanchette Brunoy as Flore;
Gerard Landry as Le fils Dauvergne;
Jenny Helia as Philomene Sauvagnat;
Colette Regis as Victoire Pecqueux;
Claire Gerard as Une voyageuse;
Charlotte Clasis as Tante Phasie, la marraine de Lantier;
Jacques Berlioz as Grandmorin;
Tony Corteggiani as Dabadie, le chef de section;
Andre Tavernier as Le juge d'instruction Denizet;
Marcel Peres as Un lampiste;
Jean Renoir as Cabuche;
Julien Carette as Pecqueux