''Trap for Cinderella'' (french: Piège pour Cendrillon) is a 1965 French-Italian psychological thriller film directed by

André Cayatte André Cayatte (3 February 1909, in Carcassonne – 6 February 1989, in Paris) was a French filmmaker, writer and lawyer, who became known for his films centering on themes of crime, justice, and moral responsibility. Cayatte began his directoral ...

. It is adapted from

Sébastien Japrisot Sébastien Japrisot (4 July 1931 – 4 March 2003) was a French author, screenwriter and film director. His pseudonym was an anagram of Jean-Baptiste Rossi, his real name. Renowned for subverting the rules of the crime genre, Japrisot broke dow ...

's novel of the same name.

Plot

The young Michèle Isola, who is about to inherit a fortune from her godmother, scarcely survives a terrible fire. When she regains

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

it becomes evident she suffers with

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

. Once her physical health is stable again, she is allowed to leave the hospital. Yet the currently mentally fragile patient still needs somebody to take care of her for the time being. Her former

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

Jeanne shall support her. Michèle, who is haunted by flashbacks, appreciates Jeanne's help until certain information arouses her suspicion. In secret she starts now an investigation

Cast

Dany Carrel Yvonne Suzanne Chazelles de Chaxel, better known as Dany Carrel, (born 20 September 1932 or 20 September 1935) is a French actress. She was born in Vietnam - then French Indochina - to French father Aimé Chazelles de Chaxel and his Vietnamese mi ...

as Michèle Isola / Dominique Loï *

Madeleine Robinson Madeleine Robinson (born Madeleine Svoboda; 5 November 1917 – 1 August 2004) was a French actress. She was born to a French mother and Czech father near Paris. She was orphaned at the age of 14, and worked to support herself and her two younge ...

as Jeanne Mureau *

Hubert Noël Hubert Noël (1924–1987) was a French film actor.McFarlane p.160 Partial filmography * '' Forbidden to the Public'' (1949) - Bernard * ''Dear Caroline'' (1951) - L'ami de Sallanches (uncredited) * ''Monsieur Fabre'' (1951) - Le fiancé d'Antoni ...

as François * Jean Gaven as Gabriel *

René Dary René Dary (19 July 1905 – 6 October 1974) was a French film actor.Witt & Temple p.150 Dary began his career as a child actor. Selected filmography * '' The Lie of Nina Petrovna'' (1937) * '' S.O.S. Sahara'' (1938) * '' The Fugitive'' (1947) * ...

as doctor Doulin * Francis Nani as Serge *

Robert Dalban Robert Dalban (born Gaston Barré; 19 July 1903, in Celles-sur-Belle, Deux-Sèvres – 3 April 1987, in Paris) was a French actor. His work included stage acting, roles in TV shows and dubbing American stars. Moreover, he was a fixture in Frenc ...

as the garage owner

Release

The film was commercially unsuccessful and stayed in French theaters for only five weeks, generating 120,572 admissions (Cayatte's worst box-office result since 1955's '' Le Dossier Noir''.) It was broadcast on the French television only once in 1973. The novel's author Japrisot—who disliked the film—blocked the rights for many years keeping it out of circulation. The film resurfaced at the Lyon Film Festival in 2019, and was released by Gaumont on DVD and Blu-ray in June 2020.

References

External links

* *
Piège pour Cendrillon at www.filmsdefrance.com
1965 films Films about amnesia Films directed by André Cayatte French thriller films 1960s French-language films Italian thriller films Films based on French novels Films with screenplays by Jean Anouilh Films based on works by Sébastien Japrisot 1960s French films 1960s Italian films Films scored by Louiguy {{1960s-Italy-film-stub