le corbeau

September 14 movie: Le Corbeau. Suspense movie about a small French town convulsed by paranoia when anonymous poison pen letters start appearing in everyone's mailbox. This is the third Clouzot movie I've seen, and probably my third favorite. Which means it was merely excellent, not spectacular like Diabolique or The Wages of Fear. I think my only criticism of the movie is that I figured out who did it too soon. Unlike Diabolique, which I figured out just when I thinbk Clouzot wanted me to. Le Corbeau was made during the occupation of France, and though it can be interpreted as an anti-Nazi statement, was at the time roundly condemned by everyone -- the Vichy government, the resistance, the Catholic church, and the post-liberation French government.