''This Man Must Die'' (french: Que la bête meure), American title ''The Beast Must Die'', is a 1969

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Italian

psychological thriller film Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...

directed by

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

. The story is based on the 1938 novel '' The Beast Must Die'' by

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Irish-born British poet and Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym of Nicholas Bla ...

, writing as Nicholas Blake. A widower, obsessed with revenge after his only son is killed in a hit-and-run incident, tracks down and seduces the driver's mistress who was in the car at the time but his efforts to kill the driver misfire. The film had a total of 1,092,910 admissions in France.

Plot

A sports car races through the countryside. A young woman is in the passenger seat. It enters a small village at high speed. It hits Charles Thénier's young son, who is returning from the beach, and drives on without stopping. Charles vows to have his revenge, keeping a journal of his thoughts. The police investigation is fruitless. Charles thinks the guilty party may run a garage, since there is no record of a car going in for repairs. By chance, while pursuing this hunch, he discovers that the actress Hélène Lanson was the passenger in a car that was damaged on the day of his son's death. Adopting a pseudonym, he seduces her and discovers that the driver was her brother-in-law Paul Decourt. He arranges a trip with Hélène to visit her sister's family in Brittany. Charles discovers that Paul is detestable, cruel to his wife and hated by his teenage son Philippe. He has conflicting thoughts as to whether or not he will kill Paul but rescues him from a cliff-fall. Philippe confides to Charles his own desire to kill his father. Hélène confesses that she once slept with Paul so Charles presses her to explain more of her anxiety about Paul but she refuses to add anything. Charles decides to kill Paul in a staged sailing accident and buys a boat for that purpose. However, while at sea, Paul pulls a gun on him and reveals that he has read Charles's journal and passed it to his solicitor to take to the police should something happen to him. After returning to the harbour, Paul throws Charles out of his house. Charles appears to abandon his plan to murder Paul and drives away with Hélène. In a roadside restaurant, a television announcer reports Paul's death from poisoning and appeals for Charles and Hélène to return, which they do. Charles argues with the police that it would be foolhardy for him to kill Paul when he knew the journal would reach them. They contend that Charles has planned to use this argument to deflect their suspicions, and arrest him. However, Philippe enters and confesses to the murder. Back at their hotel, Charles is weary and promises to tell Hélène the entire story the next day. She wakes to find his note explaining that Philippe has confessed falsely to the crime Charles himself committed. He tells her to share his confession with the police and that he will punish himself and never be seen again. He is seen sailing oceanward. The Brahms piece "Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh" ('For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts', OT Koh 3,19-22 LUT) from Four Serious Songs op. 121, is sung by

Kathleen Ferrier Kathleen Mary Ferrier, CBE (22 April 19128 October 1953) was an English contralto singer who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the cl ...

as a motif.

Selected cast

Michel Duchaussoy Michel René Jacques Duchaussoy (29 November 1938 – 13 March 2012) was a French film actor, who appeared in more than 130 films between 1962 and 2012. At first a theatre actor, he worked for many years in the Comédie Française, where he ...

as Charles Thénier * Caroline Cellier as Hélène Lanson * Jean Yanne as Paul Decourt *

Anouk Ferjac Anouk Ferjac (born 25 May 1932) is a French actress. She has appeared in 100 films and television shows between 1946 and 2000. Selected filmography * ''Scandal on the Champs-Élysées'' (1949) * ''Justice Is Done'' (1950) * '' Without Trumpet ...

as Jeanne Decourt * Marc Di Napoli as Philippe Decourt * Louise Chevalier as Madame Levenes * Dominique Zardi as Police Inspector * Maurice Pialat as Police Commissioner

References

External links

* * {{Paul Gégauff 1969 films Films based on British novels French psychological thriller films 1960s French-language films Italian psychological thriller films 1960s psychological thriller films Films directed by Claude Chabrol Films with screenplays by Paul Gégauff Films set in Brittany 1960s Italian films 1960s French films