''The Maids'' (french: Les Bonnes) is a 1975 British film that was directed by

Christopher Miles Christopher Miles (born 19 April 1939) is a British film director, producer and screenwriter. Personal life Miles was born in London, England, the eldest of four children to Clarice Remnant (‘Wren’), a councillor, and John Miles, a consulti ...

. It is based on the play of the same title by the French dramatist

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

. The film stars

Glenda Jackson Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for ...

as Solange,

Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...

as Claire,

Vivien Merchant Ada Brand Thomson (22 July 1929 – 3 October 1982), known professionally as Vivien Merchant, was an English actress. She began her career in 1942, and became known for dramatic roles on stage and in films. In 1956 she married the playwright H ...

as Madame, and Mark Burns as Monsieur. The film was produced by

Ely Landau Ely Abraham Landau (January 20, 1920 – November 4, 1993) was an American producer and production executive best remembered for films of plays in the American Film Theatre series. Landau began working in television as a director and producer i ...

for the

American Film Theatre From 1973 to 1975, using approximately 500 movie theaters across the US, The American Film Theatre presented two seasons of film adaptations of well-known plays. Each film was shown only four times at each theatre. By design, these were not films ...

, which presented thirteen film adaptations of plays in the United States from 1973 to 1975.

Plot

Solange and Claire are two housemaids who construct elaborate

sadomasochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

rituals when their mistress (Madame) is away. The focus of their role-playing is the murder of Madame, and they take turns portraying either side of the power divide. The deliberate pace and devotion to detail guarantees that they always fail to actualize their fantasies by ceremoniously "killing" Madame at the ritual's

denouement Dramatic structure (also known as dramaturgical structure) is the structure of a dramatic work such as a book, play, or film. There are different kinds of dramatic structures worldwide which have been hypothesized by critics, writers and schola ...

. The plot of the film was popularly believed to have been inspired by the murders committed in 1933 by

Christine and Léa Papin Christine Papin (8 March 1905 – 18 May 1937) and Léa Papin (15 September 1911 – 24 July 2001) were two French sisters who, as live-in maids, were convicted of murdering their employer's wife and daughter in Le Mans on February 2, 1933. The ...

, although this was denied by Genet.

Cast

as Solange *

as Claire *

as Madame * Mark Burns as Monsieur

Production

Before it was filmed for the

, it ran as a stage play at the

Greenwich Theatre Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London. Theatre first came to Greenwich at the beginning of the 19th century during the famous Eastertide Greenwich Fair at which the Ric ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, with the same principal cast later used for the film version. The director,

planned the 12-day shoot with a single camera which could track anywhere over the set with the

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

Douglas Slocombe Ralph Douglas Vladimir SlocombeDuncan Petrie, "Slocombe, (Ralph) Douglas Vladimir (1913–2016)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Jan 202available online Retrieved 8 July 2020. OBE, BSC, ASC, GBCT (10 Feb ...

and deliberately implemented many of Genet's theatrical devices for the film. The camera was often static, the settings lush and extravagant.

Release

The film was shown at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition.

References

External links