WWII-era French town descends into paranoia when someone is writing letters accusing other townspeople of various crimes. I’m a fan of the sharp-looking Clouzot fast-paced b/w thrillers, though I watched this while tired and my notes make little sense (“everyone in church got forged letters arranging them to meet… no 13 suicided after letter… Rolande is someone”).
Key players:
Doctor Germaine: Pierre Fresnay, lead dude of The Devil’s Hand
Hotgirl Denise: Ginette Leclerc, “stupid wife” of the remade Late Mathias Pascal
Old Man Vorzet: Pierre Larquey, a Diabolique professor, 8th billed so nobody guesses he’s the villain
Young Goodwife Laura: Micheline Francey of a late 30’s Phantom Carriage remake
Dave Kehr:
Polished, impersonal work, it puts forward little more than a spirit of free-floating misanthropy. Remade (and improved) by Otto Preminger in 1951 as The Thirteenth Letter.