''Dr. Popaul'' is a 1972 French

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

film 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 a ...

. also known under the titles ''High Heels'' and ''Scoundrel in White''. Based on the 1969 novel ''Murder at Leisure'' by

Hubert Monteilhet Hubert Monteilhet (July 10, 1928 - May 12, 2019) was a French writer of crime and historical fiction. His best-known novels are '' The Praying Mantises'' and ''Return from the Ashes'' which have been adapted into TV and motion pictures. His work ...

, it tells the story of an inveterate womaniser who, after marrying an unattractive but rich girl, seduces her prettier sister and has a baby with her. The revenge of his wife is painful and fatal.

Plot

As a medical student, Paul became celebrated for the conquest of unattractive girls, finding them more satisfying than prettier ones. On holiday in Tunisia he met Christine, a shy young woman with a crippled leg, and took her virginity. Back in France he met her father, owner of a lucrative private clinic, who offered to make him co-director of the clinic if he married Christine. At the wedding he met her beautiful younger sister, Martine, and applied himself to removing all her suitors one by one. He then took to drugging Christine so that he could spend the nights with Martine, who had his baby. He thought he had a happy family of wife, mistress, and child until a mysterious road accident left him crippled for life and emasculated. Martine left him, and Christine brought him a drug so that he could end it all. After he took the drug, over the intercom Christine explained that while he was cavorting with Martine she was comforted by the co-director Berthier. Together they staged the accident, after which Berthier operated to remove Paul's mobility and virility. Paul screamed for help, but the room was soundproofed.

Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

as Docteur Paul Simay *

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequent ...

as Christine Dupont * Laura Antonelli as Martine Dupont * Marlène Appelt as Carole, the nurse * Dominique Zardi as the Bishop *

Daniel Lecourtois Daniel Lecourtois (25 January 1902 – 16 January 1985) was a French film actor.Hayward p.250 He appeared in more than sixty films and television series during his career. In his later career he often played authority figures. Partial filmography ...

as Professeur Dupont *

Daniel Ivernel Daniel Ivernel (3 June 1920 – 11 November 1999) was a French film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1947 and 1981. Filmography References External links * 1920 births 1999 deaths French male film actors People from Versai ...

as Docteur Berthier *

Patrick Préjean Patrick Préjean (born 4 June 1944) is a French actor, known especially for his work in dubbing. He has also made a career in boulevard theatre. He is the son of the actor Albert Préjean and the actress Lysiane Rey, and is the father of act ...

as Arthur Rignard * Michel Peyrelon as Joseph * Henri Attal as Old Woman

Production

The film was the first movie from Belmondo's own production company, Cerito Films.

Reception

At the time of its release, it was the biggest hit of Chabrol's career. However it was not released in Britain until 1976, where it was titled ''Scoundrel in White''. It was not released in the US until 1981, where it had the title ''High Heels''. The film received mixed reviews upon release. ''The New York Times'' said "the performances are uniformly good" but "more interesting than the movie itself is the way its concerns with guilt and roletrading relate to other, far better Chabrol films." ''Time Out'' called it a "coarse farce" that "looked more like the director's revenge on the French mass audience, who had consistently ignored his good movies, but would accept anything with Belmondo." "It stinks" said the ''Los Angeles Times''.

References

External links

*
''Dr Popaul''
at Le Film Guide
Contemporary TV report on the making of the film
(in French) 1972 films 1970s crime comedy films Adultery in films French crime comedy films Films directed by Claude Chabrol French black comedy films Italian crime comedy films Films with screenplays by Paul Gégauff Films based on French novels Italian black comedy films 1970s black comedy films 1972 comedy films 1972 drama films 1970s French-language films 1970s French films 1970s Italian films {{1970s-comedy-film-stub