La Verite, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s courtroom drama in which a young woman, accused of murdering her lover, finds herself on trial as much for her morals and lifestyle as for the actual murder.
Clouzot, better known for helming the Cannes Film Fest-winning “The Wages of Fear” and the suspenseful thriller “Diabolique,” directed Brigitte Bardot, then at the height of her international popularity. Bardot plays Dominique Marceau, who is accused of killing her boyfriend. The jury needs to decide whether the murder was premeditated or a crime of passion.
Marceau had come from a small town to take up a sexually adventuresome life on the Left Bank in Paris. She has an affair with Gilbert Tellier (Sami Frey), the boyfriend of her sister Annie (Marie-Jose Nat). Dominique moves on to other romances, but Tellier gets jealous and obsessed and thus won’t let go of her.
After a big fight, they separate. Tellier becomes a renowned orchestra conductor while Dominique descends into prostitution. Things change radically, when she finds out that her sister and Tellier are engaged to be married, leading to a series of unanticipated events.
Oscar Nominations: 1
La Verite was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, but the winner that year was Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring.
Cast
Brigitte Bardot as Dominique Marceau
Cahrles Vanel as Maître Guérin
Paul Meurisse as Maître Éparvier
Sami Frey as Gilbert Tellier
Marie-Jose Nat as Annie Marceau
Louis Seigner as Le président des assises
Andre Oumansky as Ludovic