''The Last of the Six'' (French: ''Le dernier des six'') is a 1941 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'' ( ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Georges Lacombe and starring

Pierre Fresnay Pierre Fresnay (4 April 1897 – 9 January 1975) was a French stage and film actor. Biography Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach, he was encouraged by his uncle, actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film. He joined the company a ...

Michèle Alfa Michèle Alfa (born Joséphine Blanche Alfreda Bassignot; August 20, 1911 – August 24, 1987) was a French stage and film actress. After appearing mainly in supporting roles during the 1930s she starred in a number of films during the 1940s. D ...

and Suzy Delair. It was shot at the Billancourt 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 ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director Andrej Andrejew. It is based on the 1931 novel '' The Six Dead Men'' by the Belgian writer

Stanislas-André Steeman Stanislas-Andre Steeman ( Liège on 23 January 1908 – Menton on 15 December 1970) was a Belgian illustrator and French-language author. His family, originally of Flemish extraction, had long been settled in Liège. He wrote many mystery nove ...

.Goble p.440 The film was made in

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 ...

by the German-backed

Continental Films Continental Films was a German-controlled French film production company. It stood as the sole authorized film production organization in Nazi-occupied France. Established in October 1940, it was entirely bankrolled by the German government, and ...

, with the screenplay by Henri-Georges Clouzot who headed the company's scenario department. It was followed by a sequel in 1942 '' The Murderer Lives at Number 21'' directed by Clouzot, with Fresnay and Delair reprising their roles.

Cast

as Le commissaire Wensceslas Voroboevitch dit Monsieur Wens *

as Lolita Gernicot * Suzy Delair as Mila Malou - une chanteuse de cabaret, la maîtresse gouailleuse de Wens * Jean Tissier as Henri Tignol * André Luguet as Henri Senterre *

Jean Chevrier Jean Chevrier (25 April 1915 – 13 December 1975) was a French film actor and member of the Comédie-Française. He appeared in 50 films between 1936 and 1972. He was married to actress Marie Bell. At the end of his life, he was known as ...

as Jean Perlonjour *

Lucien Nat Lucien Nat (born Lucien Maurice Natte; 11 January 1895 – 25 July 1972) was a French film, stage and television actor.McCann p.95 He was married to the actress Marie Déa. Selected filmography * ''Fun in the Barracks'' (1932) - Maréchal des ...

as Marcel Gernicot * Georges Rollin as Georges Gribbe dit Jo * Raymond Segard as Namotte *

Odette Barencey Odette Barencey (20 August 1893 – 4 March 1981) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1927 and 1958. She was married to the actor Marcel Barencey. Selected filmography * '' My Childish Father'' (1930) * ' ...

as Pâquerette * Henri Bargin as Un homme *

Jacques Beauvais Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

as Le maître d'hôtel *

Rivers Cadet Rivers Cadet (1 March 1892 – 1 November 1968) was a French actor. Cadet was born Jean Maurice Large in Paris. He was the brother of Fernand Rivers. Selected filmography * ''Maurin of the Moors'' (1932) * '' The Ironmaster'' (1933) * '' Thr ...

as Un inspecteur * Martine Carol as Une femme * Paul Demange as Fabien - le maître d'hôtel de Senterre * Pierre Labry as L'inspecteur Picard * Roger Legris as Le photographe *

Albert Malbert Albert Malbert (1914–1972) was a French film actor.Goble p.66 Selected filmography * '' The Crisis is Over'' (1934) * '' Return to Paradise'' (1935) * ''Bach the Detective'' (1936) * '' Moutonnet'' (1936) * ''The Brighton Twins'' (1936) * '' Cu ...

as Le patron du garni *

Marcel Maupi Marcel Maupi, stage name of Marcel Louis Alexandre Barberin or Maupi, (6 November 1881, Marseille – 4 January 1949, Antibes) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Dance Hall'' (1931) * '' Marius'' (1931) * '' Fanny'' (1932) * '' The Iro ...

as Le régisseur * Robert Ozanne as L'inspecteur Dallandier * Maurice Salabert as Un inspecteur *

Robert Vattier Robert Vattier (2 October 1906 – 9 December 1982) was a French actor. He was the father of the comedic actress Bérangère Vattier. Selected filmography * '' Marius'' (1931) - Albert Brun * '' Fanny'' (1932) - Albert Brun * ''Vers l'abîme ...

as L'administrateur * Frank Villard as Un homme * Charles Vissières as Le concierge

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Hayward, Susan. ''Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)''. University of Illinois Press, 2005. * Mayne, Judith. ''Le Corbeau: (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1943)''. University of Illinois Press, 2007.

External links

* 1941 films French drama films 1941 drama films 1940s thriller films French thriller films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Georges Lacombe French black-and-white films Films set in Paris Films based on Belgian novels 1940s French films Films based on works by Stanislas-André Steeman {{1940s-France-film-stub