Les visiteurs du soir (1942)

Director:

Marcel Carné

Writers:

Jacques Prévert (writer) and
Pierre Laroche (writer)

Release Date:

29 August 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

At the end of the 15th century, two minstrels Gilles and Dominique come from nowhere into the castle of Baron Hugues...

Plot Keywords:

Devil | Love | Baron | Castle | Fire

Cast

Arletty	...	Dominique
Marie Déa	...	Anne
Fernand Ledoux	...	Le baron Hugues
Alain Cuny	...	Gilles
Pierre Labry	...	Le seigneur
Jean d'Yd	...	Le baladin
Roger Blin	...	Le montreur de monstres
Gabriel Gabrio	...	Le bourreau
Marcel Herrand	...	Le baron Renaud
Jules Berry	...	Le diable

Also Known As:

The Devil's Envoys (International: English title)
Der Teufel gibt sich die Ehre (West Germany) [de]
Die Nacht mit dem Teufel (Germany) [de]
Die Satansboten (Austria) [de]
Ikuinen rakkaus (Finland) [fi]
L'amore e il diavolo (Italy) [it]
Los visitantes de la noche (Argentina) [es]
Nattens gäster (Sweden) [sv]
Os trovadores Malditos (Portugal) [pt]
Wieczorni goscie (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

120 min | USA:115 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 (f)

Filming Locations:

Franstudio, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France

Company:

Productions André Paulvé

Movie Connections:

Featured in Histoire(s) du cinéma: La monnaie de l'absolu (1998) (V)

Great, fascinating tale

A relatively little-known but fascinating movie. Made during the German occupation of France, the film is set in the Late Middle Ages and deals with two envoys of the devil, Gilles and Dominique (Alain Cuny and Arletty, wonderful both) that arrive posing as wandering minstrels at the castle of a Baron where preparations for an upcoming wedding are being made. Their intention is to create havoc by breaking the hearts of all involved. These envoys have extraordinary powers to achieve these goals, like slowing time to a stop so that they can work on their targets at ease. Eventually, the very devil shows up at the castle in disguise. One can argue that the devil in the movie stands for Hitler and the Nazis and so forth, but the film works even if you don't try to watch it as a metaphor for the contemporary events of the time. The movie is memorable and evocative, with many great scenes and a great ending.