Tony Richardson directed Mademoiselle, a dark satire, which world premiered at the Cannes Film Fest.
Jeanne Moreau plays an undetected sociopath, arsonist and poisoner, a respected visiting schoolteacher in a small French village.
In the first scene, Mademoiselle is opening floodgates to inundate the village, signaling that she is far from being an upstanding citizen.
There’s little insight into her motivation. She has no cause for revenge, and acquires no gains from her furtive crimes.
Later, she sets fire to houses and poisons the drinking troughs, causing the death of farm animals.
Victim of prejudice, an Italian woodcutter (Manou, played in Italian by Ettore Manni) is the chief suspect.
Sexual tension arises between Mademoiselle and Manou, and after a night of perverse intimacy, she falsely denounces him and the villagers hack him to death.
In the final scene, as Mademoiselle is leaving the village, while the woodcutter’s son (and her former pupil) knows the secret.
The film was shot on location in the tiny village of Le Rat, in central France.
The director originally wanted Brando for the male lead, but there were scheduling conflicts.
Critical Status:
BAFTA award for Best Costume Design, B&W, by Jocelyn Rickards
Cast
Jeanne Moreau – Mademoiselle
Ettore Manni – Manou
Keith Skinner – Bruno
Umberto Orsini – Antonio
Georges Aubert – René
Jane Beretta – Annette (as Jane Berretta)
Paul Barge – Young Policeman
Pierre Collet – Marcel
Gérard Darrieu – Boulet
Jean Gras – Roger
Gabriel Gobin – Police Sergeant
Rosine Luguet – Lisa
Antoine Marin – Armand
Georges Douking – The Priest
Jacques Monod – Mayor
