''The Eleven O'Clock Woman'' (French: ''La dame d'onze heures'') is a 1948 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'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

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

Jean Devaivre Jean Devaivre (born Jean-Justin de Vaivre) (1912–2004) was a French film director and screenwriter.Rège p.319 Additionally, he worked as a dubbing director, preparing foreign-language films for release in France. The film ''Safe Conduct'' (''La ...

and starring

Paul Meurisse Paul Meurisse (; 21 December 1912 – 19 January 1979) was a French actor who appeared in over 60 films and many stage productions. Meurisse was noted for the elegance of his acting style, and for his versatility. He was equally able to pl ...

Micheline Francey Micheline Francey (19 October 1919 – 1 January 1969) was a French film actress.Hayward p.115 Selected filmography * ''The Chess Player'' (1938) * '' The President'' (1938) * ''The Phantom Carriage'' (1939) * '' Monsieur La Souris'' (1942) * '' ...

Gilbert Gil Gilbert Gil (September 9, 1913 – August 25, 1988) was a French film actor. He also directed a single film '' Criminal Brigade'' in 1947.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.47 Partial filmography * ''Mayerling'' (1936) - Un étudiant (uncredited) * ''Les gr ...

and

Pierre Renoir Pierre Renoir (; March 21, 1885 – March 11, 1952) was a French stage and film actor. He was the son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and elder brother of the film director Jean Renoir. He is also noted for being the first a ...

. It is based on the 1938 novel of the same title by Pierre Apestéguy.Goble p.12 It was shot at the François 1er Studios in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and on location around the city. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Robert Hubert.

Synopsis

Stanislas, a young

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

recently back from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, goes to visit the Pescara family. When a murder takes place he sets out as an

amateur detective Fictional detectives are characters in detective fiction. These individuals have long been a staple of detective mystery crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories. Much of early detective fiction was written during the "G ...

to solve the crime.

Cast

as Stanislas-Octave Seminario dit 'SOS' *

as Muriel Pescara *

as Charles Pescara *

as Le docteur Gérard Pescara *

Jean Tissier Jean Tissier (1896–1973) was a French stage, film and television actor.Goble p.440 A prolific actor, he had more than two hundred fifty appearances on screen during his career. He was married to the actress Georgette Tissier. Selected filmogr ...

as Guillaume *

Jean Brochard Jean Brochard (; 12 March 1893 – 17 June 1972) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1933 and 1966. Selected filmography * '' A Man's Neck'' (1933) - Petit rôle (uncredited) * ''Boubouroche'' (1933) * '' ...

as Le juge d'instruction * Pierre-Louis as Paul Wantz dit Delbecq *

Junie Astor Rolande Jeanne Risterucci (1911–1967), better known as Junie Astor, was a French actress. Selected filmography * ''Skylark'' (1934) * ''Stradivarius'' (1935) * ''The Lower Depths'' (1936) * ''Women's Club'' (1936) * ''In the Service of the Tsa ...

as Hélène Tassin - l'infirmière *

Jean Debucourt Jean Debucourt (19 January 1894 – 22 March 1958) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1920 and 1958. Selected filmography * '' The Little Thing'' (1923) * ''Jean Chouan'' (1926) * ''Madame Récamier'' ...

as Le docteur Vermeulen *

Mady Berry Mady Berry (14 October 1887 – 18 January 1965) was a French stage and film actress.Waldman p.146 Selected filmography * '' Gloria'' (1931) * '' All That's Not Worth Love'' (1931) * '' Moon Over Morocco'' (1931) * '' The Girl and the Boy'' (193 ...

as Brigitte Tassin *

Pierre Palau Pierre Palau (13 August 1883 – 3 December 1966), often known simply as Palau, was a French actor. Palau was born Pierre Palau del Vitri in Paris and died at age 83 in Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine, France. Partial filmography * '' When Do You Commi ...

as Le portier *

Arthur Devère Arthur Devère (; 24 June 1883 – 23 September 1961) was a Belgian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1913 and 1956. Selected filmography * ''L'agent Rigolo et son chien policier'' (1913) * ''Flup chasseur'' (1920) * ' ...

as L'éclusier *

Marcel Pérès Marcel Pérès (born 15 July 1956, Oran, Algeria) is a French musicologist, composer, choral director and singer, and the founder of the early music group Ensemble Organum. He is an authority on Gregorian and pre-Gregorian chant. Pérès was ...

as Le cantonnier *

Jean Sinoël Jean Sinoël (13 August 1868 – 30 August 1949), often known simply as Sinoël, was a French actor and singer. Born Jean Léonis Blès in Sainte-Terre, Gironde, France, he died in Paris in 1949. Selected filmography * '' Captain Craddock'' (193 ...

as Le jardinier *

Georges Bever Georges Bever (1884–1973) was a French film and television actor.Goble p.38 Selected filmography * '' The Crystal Submarine '' (1927) * '' Chérie'' (1930) * ''The Man in Evening Clothes'' (1931) * '' I'll Be Alone After Midnight'' (1931) * '' ...

as Baptiste - le greffier *

Madeleine Suffel Madeleine Suffel (1899–1974) was a French film and stage actress.Palmer & Michael p.274 She played supporting roles in a number of films from the early 1930s onwards. Selected filmography * '' A Rare Bird'' (1935) * '' School for Coquettes'' (1 ...

as La patronne de l'hôtel *

Michel Seldow Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

as Le prestidigitateur Pablo

References

Bibliography

* Bessy, Maurice & Chirat, Raymond. ''Histoire du cinéma français: encyclopédie des films, 1940–1950''. Pygmalion, 1986 * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1948 films French mystery films 1948 mystery films French thriller films 1940s thriller films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Jean Devaivre French black-and-white films 1940s French films Films based on French novels Films shot in Paris Films set in Paris {{1940s-France-film-stub