''The Wolf of the Malveneurs'' (French: ''Le loup des Malveneur'') is a 1943 French

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

horror film directed by

Guillaume Radot Guillaume Radot (1911–1977) was a French screenwriter, film producer, producer and film director.Klossner p.64 Selected filmography * ''The Wolf of the Malveneurs'' (1943) * ''Lawless Roads'' (1947) * ''The Wolf (1949 film), The Wolf'' (1949) * ...

and starring

Madeleine Sologne Madeleine Sologne (12 October 1912 – 31 March 1995) was a French film actress. Sologne was born Madeleine Simone Vouillon in La Ferté-Imbault, Loir-et-Cher. She was married to the art director Jean Douarinou. Selected filmography * ''Adri ...

, Pierre Renoir and

Gabrielle Dorziat Gabrielle Dorziat (1880–1979) was a French stage and film actress. Dorziat was a fashion trend setter in Paris and helped popularize the designs of Coco Chanel. The Théâtre Gabrielle-Dorziat in Épernay, France is named for her. Biography ...

. It was shot at the

Cité Elgé Cité Elgé were French film studios located in Paris. They were constructed in 1905 in the Buttes-Chaumont area of the city by the Gaumont Film Company The Gaumont Film Company (, ), often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headq ...

studios in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

with

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

at the Château d'Anjony in Tournemire. The film's sets were designed by the art director

Marcel Magniez Marcel Magniez (born 1888) was a French art director who designed the sets for around forty film productions from the late 1920s to the early 1950s. Soister p.281 Selected filmography * '' Parisian Pleasures'' (1927) * '' My Aunts and I'' (1937 ...

. It is Gothic in style with use of

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

lighting. It was part of a group of films produced in

German-occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

that used fantasy or historical costume settings to subtly express dissent.Deighan p.25

Synopsis

The Malveneur family live at the same gloomy, isolated castle in the countryside they have held for centuries. The current owner Reginald de Malveneur strongly believes in an ancient curse that turned one of his ancestors into a

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...

. As he has only a daughter rather than a son he will be the last of the line, unless his obsessive scientific experiments in his

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physic ...

bear fruit. A young governess arrives from

to educate Malveneur's daughter. When both Malveneur, his gamekeeper and his wife disappear or die within weeks of each other, the governess join forces with a young painter to investigate the mystery.

Cast

as Monique Valory * Pierre Renoir as Reginald de Malveneur *

as Magda * Michel Marsay as Philippe * Marie Olinska as Estelle Malveneur *

Marcelle Géniat Marcelle Géniat (1881-1959) was a French film actress.Goble p. 121 She was born Eugénie Pauline Martin in St. Petersburg, Russia, to French parents. Partial filmography * ''Le retour du passé'' (1916) * ''L'imprévu'' (1917) - Hélène Rav ...

as Marianne *

Louis Salou Louis Vincent Goulven Salou (23 April 1902 – 12 October 1948) was a French stage and film actor. Louis was born in Oissel and died in Fontenay-aux-Roses. Selected filmography * ''First Ball'' (1941) * '' The Benefactor'' (1942) * ''Bolero' ...

as Dr. Andrieu * Yves Furet as Firmin * Jo Dervo as Dr. Giraud *

Henri Charrett Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mon ...

as Le Garde-Chasse * Bijou as Geneviève

References

Bibliography

* Bertin-Maghit, Jean Pierre. ''Le cinéma français sous Vichy: les films français de 1940 à 1944''. Revue du Cinéma Albatros, 1980. * Deighan, Samm. ''The Legacy of World War II in European Arthouse Cinema''. McFarland, 2021. * Hutchings, Peter. ''The A to Z of Horror Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1943 films 1940s French-language films 1943 mystery films French mystery films 1943 horror films French horror films Films directed by Guillaume Radot 1940s French films {{1940s-France-film-stub