And it's Michel Simon
in a film by Sacha Guitry
Dialogue and direction are by the author, of course
The music and new songs are by Louiguy
The film is called "Poison"
N. B. Wordplay: le poison = poison, la poison = hag
Jean Debucourt of the Comédie-Française is one of the main actors
and furthermore...
So, since you have been so good as to ask me for a dedication,
Here it is.
Michel Simon, this film that I have just made
gave me one of the greatest joys I've had in the theater,
for I think I'll be allowed to call it theater.
I had never before had you as an actor.
Well, you are exceptional.
I would even say, unique.
Between the moment when you cease being yourself
and when you play your role,
it's impossible to see the seams.
Nor when, on ceasing to act, you become yourself again.
So that there is no reason to stop shooting.
I place you among the greatest.
Frédérick Lemaître, Sarah Bernhardt, my father,
Zacconi, Chaliapin.
Like them, you are alone. A voluntary solitary.
Like them, you possess that precious virtue
that cannot be acquired and cannot be transmitted:
the sense of theater.
The ability to make others share
feelings that you do not feel.
You aren't one of those actors who gather troupes around them.
No, no,
You aren't one of those actors who give lessons.
What is admirable in you
cannot be learned.
And above all it can't be taught.
And life is on holiday.
You too, Louiguy, you have a miraculous gift.
The pieces you compose
go in one ear and don't go out the other.
Lucienne Delyle, it's a great joy
to have you for an actress.
Thank you. - Oh, yes. Thank you.
Now the rosebushes are budding
They'll show off all their finery
Jean Debucourt and Jacques Varennes...
You act so well, Jacques Varennes,
one would think you were in the Comédie-Française.
And you act so well, Debucourt, one would think you weren't.
Jeanne Fusier-Gir... - Sacha?
Despite my efforts,
I can't imagine a play or a film
of which I would be the author and in which you would not perform.
That's how it is.
May I present your son, François Gir, my assistant.
Pleased to meet you, sir. - Ad vitam aeternam.
As for you, Mrs. Reuver,
you created Crainquebille with my father.
Yes, sir. - It's for that reason
that I have given you the main female role.
And it's also for that reason that you have played it so well.
Here is my Pauline, in the prison set.
Pauline Carton.
We've known each other now for twenty years,
and I still wonder
which I admire more: your talent or your intelligence.
As for the sets, they were made to my specifications
and I assure you they are correct.
Goodbye, Pauline. - Goodbye, sir.
Duvaleix...
Sir.
Henri Laverne, Bever,
Jacques de Féraudy, Léon Walther.
I'll tell you something very sincerely,
if you had less talent,
I would still remain your friend.
Jacques Derives, Max-Harry, Louis de Funès.
Bravo a hundred times.
A hundred times, thanks.
Luce Fabiole,
Yvonne Hébert, Miss Ardant, Miss Quentin,
Poirier, Mercier, Dalibert, Dejean,
Nastorg, Amato, Eymond and Belly,
will you all work on my next film? - Yes!
Mrs. Maria Fromet,
attentive and at her place and who acts so well, thanks.
Thank you, sir.
Hello? Suzanne Dantès,
Jacques Morel and you, Mr. Toscane,
since you are only heard in the film,
you won't be seen in the credits.
But you'll have the place that is rightfully yours.
Thank you.
An art director like you, Robert Dumesnil,
deserves to be decorated.
The editing of a film is a delicate thing.
Raymond Lamy, you are a master in this.
You, Jean Bachelet, my director of photography,
you will be known later on as the inventor
of photography in depth.
Mrs. Odette Lemarchand, let me call you script-lady.
Fernand Janisse, chief sound technician,
since you record everything, record my gratitude.
Irénée Leriche, production coordinator.
Robert Christidès, set decorator.
René Ribaud and Gustave Raulet, cameramen.
And finally, Robert Sussfeld, production manager.
Believe me, I'm yours with both my hands.
All of you, without whom I could have done nothing,
anonymous participants
always in good humor and always useful,
let's drink together to the health of those who are dear to you.
Monday, October 8 Saint Brigitte
Only because it's you, Mrs. Michaud, I let you read my prescription book.
Listen, honestly, it does no one any harm.
and, just between us, it interests me.
I see that, by heaven, and I wonder why.
It's an idea that came to me, like that.
God knows how well I know my fellow citizens
and my mind has been made up about them for a long time,
But it amuses me all the same
to have the proof of what I was thinking.
And there you have the proof?
And how!
Gossip, rumors, chitchat, you have to take it
for what it's worth, right? - I agree.
While this here is sincerity, truth, the indisputable.
When you see the remedies, you can guess the disease.
The language of remedies is eloquent.
For example, here:
Mrs. Clément, the one on place St-Jacques,
aspirin... aspirin... aspirin... aspirin.
She has migraines!
And her scowling face is instantly understandable.
The postman, eh?
Varicose ulcer. And after that you're surprised
that the morning mail comes at night?
I won't say anything against anthropometry, obviously it's useful,
but this! it's much more instructive and conclusive
than a turned-up chin or a receding forehead.
Mercury cyanide... That says it all.
It's not his fault, that man.
No. But a father of four children, that is his fault.
Paul Braconnier: Gardenal...
He can't sleep anymore.
With the wife he's got, no surprise.
Boldo infusion for Father Métivet.
Yes, he has a bad liver.
A liver ailment, for a priest, that doesn't look right.
Calomel... calomel...
calomel. - It's needed.
Give me your pencil,
I need to do a little addition.
Hello, father.
Well!
Hello, my good friend.
How is it going?
Not so great.
I can't stand my wife anymore.
Ah... What do you have against her?
The fact that she's there. - You shouldn't have put her there.
That's a bad answer, father.
Remember the day we were married
and don't tell me it's the same woman.
She's thirty years older. - It's not a question of age.
You can be 52 years old and not look like a barrel.
Haven't you yourself changed? Be fair.
Sure, I've put on thirty years,
But I don't drink three liters of wine a day
I don't yell from morning to night, I don't smash dishes.
And to come right out with it, father,
maybe I'm 53, but I wash my feet.
What do you mean by that?
I mean that I put them in water and put soap on them.
Ah! I thought it was a figure of speech.
No.
And she doesn't do the same?
Sure. Once every two months.
Even though she sees me wash them every week,
like everyone.
Isn't that her over there?
Look at that, like a big fat sausage.
Does she go to confession from time to time?
No, never.
That's too bad, because you could have said something to her about it.
A priest can't advise his flock to wash their feet.
Yeah...
Of course, but you could have made her understand that...
What?
Oh, you're right.
Try to make a woman understand she's in the way and should go to the devil...
Do you have imagination, father?
Perhaps, yes, a little.
All right, listen, you're sleeping
and you see that coming into your bed.
Forgive me, I have a lot less imagination than you think.
Of course, but come on...
We're both men, after all, you must understand.
Yes... I understand you.
But I hope you don't talk about your wife like that to just anybody.
I wouldn't let myself. There are too many evil tongues.
If something bad happened to her... - They'd accuse me of the crime.
Don't worry, I stay on my guard.
If I talk to you, it's precisely because you're not just anyone.
There are moments when you want to say certain things out loud
because when you talk to yourself,
it very quickly goes a little too far.
It's very dangerous because the plans you make in silence,
well, they have a way of becoming reality
without difficulty.
I don't know what you're talking about at the moment,
but it does seem like you're talking to yourself and going too far.
Hello, Mrs. Michaud...
Hello, Mr. Chevillard. - How are things with you?
Very well, and you?
Too much?
Permit me... - No.
It's done. Paregoric elixir.
Yes. But how did you know?
Come on now.
Anyway, that's why I wanted to do a little addition, and I've just done it.
In a town like Rémonville,
I find 30 percent...
and 70 percent constipated.
That explains everything. - What, everything?
The country...
There she is again. Madame's doing her errands.
She's going to the pharmacist's.
Is she sick? - No danger of that!
Now, now...
Well! I've just come from your place,
Mrs. Michaud. I would have liked some muslin.
I don't have any right now, Mrs. Braconnier.
That's what your daughter told me.
Calomel.
Vermifuge.
Ipecac.
How can I be of service, Mrs. Braconnier?
I'd like some rat poison, Mr. Gaillard.
Do you want a lot of it? - Yes, enough for several times.
I'll give you 500 grams.
So, overall, it's what's called taking a dislike to someone.
It's much worse than that.
It's not hatred. - Oh, yes it is!
Come on, you're making yourself out to be more wicked than you are.
In spite of everything you wouldn't want to see her dead?
I was going to pray for you tonight...
Don't make me have to pray for her!
Is the rat poison good?
In what sense?
In the only sense there is.
In that case, it's good.
It's very, very good.
To think there are cuckolds.
Envy is a sin, my son.
Well well well!
There's enough to kill ten people.
No, not ten, seven.
How is Mr. Braconnier?
Like an oak.
He'll bury us all.
You're very charming. How much do I owe you?
How's it going?
Fine.
What's the matter? - I have no idea.
Anything wrong, Paul?
No, not at all. Everything's fine.
Well, time for chow.
So long, everybody.
See you tomorrow.
- OK, see you tomorrow.
Yes. - See you tomorrow.
You see what time it is, Mr. Braconnier?
Yes, I see.
Oh, the bastard.
Cow...
It was Mrs. Braconnier calling her husband.
If he gave her a good beating now and then,
it might teach her how to live.
And if your late husband had beaten you?
It's because he gave himself that liberty, father, that I wish it on others.
Ah, Christian charity! There's another of your victories.
What's the matter, can't you get a move on?
They'll show off all their finery
Mr. Pigeon says to Mrs. Pigeon
We'll love each other forever
What the pigeon says the finch repeats
And the wagtail makes it into a song
And life is on holiday
What is this sweet whisper
That goes on all day long?
You can hear it in the branches
It is the song of love
Now the rosebushes are budding
They'll show off all their finery
Mr. Pigeon says to Mrs. Pigeon
We'll love each other forever
What the pigeon says the finch repeats
And the wagtail makes it into a song
And life is on holiday
Let's follow his example
And since the two of us are here
You, Mr. Pigeon, and me, Mrs. Pigeon
Let's love each other, let's be happy
Now the rosebushes are budding
They'll show off all their finery
Mr. Pigeon says to Mrs. Pigeon
We'll love each other forever
What the pigeon says the finch repeats
And the wagtail makes it into a song
And life is on holiday
Ladies and gentlemen, you will now hear for the first time a one-act comedy
by Jean-Michel Vinclair and Paul-Henry Marchepied,
starring Anne-Marie Bétavy et Jean-Victor Cabanère.
Produced for radio by Albert-Léon Fromageot.
Sound effects by Louis-Alphonse Raphaël.
Script girl,
Jeanne-Patricia Nebracot.
Production coordinator, Patrick-Antoine Decourt.
And it's an Armand-Justin Toupinel production.
No, no, no, no! That would be too easy.
And don't imagine I'm going to stand for such behavior any more!
As for forgiving you, don't count on that.
People forgive when they're old enough. I'm thirty, don't forget.
So you shouldn't be surprised I'm not backing down.
Why did I marry you anyway?
I can say the same to you, and the idea of starting
my life over doesn't frighten me in the least.
Sure it doesn't! The chance to behave like a girl of the streets...
Because men like you, my friend, there's any number of them...
...should fulfill your dearest wish. ...and more generous than you.
- Wretch! - Imbecile!
- Liar! - Egomaniac!
Cruel!
Your breakfast is served, father.
Thank you, my child.
Tuesday, October 9 Saint Denis
Already!
Some people of the town want to see you, father.
Have them come in.
Come in.
Please come in.
Sit down.
I'm listening.
Hoping you will be good enough to forgive this intrusion, father,
we've come as a delegation, so to speak,
these ladies and myself, to present a request to you.
Ah...
Please go ahead, Mrs. Poitrinot.
All the businesspeople of Rémonville,
for months now we've been wondering what we could do to give,
how shall I put it, a little push
to our village. - A little push?
We're not very well situated, and it all comes from that.
- It comes from that? - Suppose we were...
...right on the Evreux road, business would go up right away, wouldn't it?
Of course, ladies.
But I don't have the power to move our village.
Of course not!
But without moving it, you could perhaps do it a great service.
A great service?
It would be enough to draw attention to it.
- What draws attention to a small town? - What makes newspapers talk about it?
What makes people from Paris come visit it?
Visit it?
The discovery of a... How did you call it?
Gallo-Roman. A Gallo-Roman treasure.
Gallo-Roman?
A terrible car accident with five or six dead.
Five or six dead.
Something unexpected.
Unexpected.
If one of us had quintuplets, for example.
Anyway, something extraordinary.
Yes. In short, a miracle.
You've said the word, father!
A miracle!
Something that would let us put a sign on the Evreux road
with "Rémonville" and an arrow. - And an arrow.
Well, for that, we would need something extraordinary.
Extraordinary. - So...
An idea came to me...
Look at my daughter, father.
But I know her. - Yes, but...
Look carefully at her.
You see what I mean?
Not at all.
Leave us alone, dear.
She's very... very backward.
And so?
Like all limited children, she believes what she's told to believe.
And so?
Well, we thought about Lisieux, which succeeded so well.
She could be healed miraculously, thanks to you.
It would be fantastic! - Are you joking?
No, father!
If you're serious, it's even worse.
All that I can promise you,
and I do promise it,
is to pray to the good lord that a miracle happen
àt Rémonville.
Thank you, father. - Thank you.
Come on.
It's scandalous!
They are the faithful ones.
He came from here, Pasteur? - Huh?
Pasteur? He came from everywhere.
Again.
I came for refuge in your place, Mrs. Tiberghen? Do you mind?
Go ahead.
Father, it's seven o'clock and dinner is served.
Thank you, my daughter.
You're welcome, father.
It's at night that it gets awful.
I don't come home anymore until the last possible minute.
And it's the radio that saves us, because it keeps us from talking.
Without it, something bad might have already happened in the house.
It's good to know that radio can be of some use.
And me who had naively thought things were
going better at your house these last few days.
Quite the contrary. It's because of the horror I have for her.
I've even started wondering if it wouldn't be better to blow my brains out.
Oh, such ideas.
Her eyes, her hands, her voice...
Everything she does and says, her very silence, even her sleep...
Will you please be quiet?
What is he saying to you now that makes you tell him to be quiet?
Horrible things about his wife.
He sees her as blacker
than she is. - Oh!
Here is Report Radio.
We got hold of Louis Aubanel on his way home
Hurry! You're going to talk!
And the famous lawyer of the Assises
gracefully consented to our impromptu interview
For, just like his friends and his clients,
we're anxious to celebrate
his hundredth acquittal. It is the hundredth today, isn't it?
That's right. - In twenty years,
is that right? - Yes.
May I ask to what you attribute
this extraordinary, almost fabulous success?
Only to the fact that since my youth, I thought
there was an essential difference
between assassins and murderers.
How nice your voice can be, darling.
Assassins scarcely interest me, but murderers fascinate me.
It's the first time you've heard yourself? - Yes.
I don't grasp this essential difference you speak of.
I hardly have the time now to explain it,
but maybe I can briefly clarify it.
Among criminals, there are a lot more murderers than assassins.
And among murderers, there are more judges than people think.
It's frightening, what I just said there.
The man who kills his son-in-law,
the wife who kills her husband, the husband who kills his wife,
are these people assassins? Not at all!
Because the removal of the people they killed
renders them harmless from that point on.
I'll just add one more thing:
Most murders are duels.
And the person whom justice calls
the murderer, I call him the winner.
You let them listen to such monstrosities? Really!
You should have seen her at seventeen.
What's that?
It's the radio.
Oh, I see.
She was the nicest-looking babe
Going to bed.
Go ahead.
Her father brought her up in the days
Of great kicks in the butt.
I like this a lot better. - Me too!
How I hate myself for being so cowardly.
Of great kicks in the butt...
Oh, for God's sake!
Are you coming to bed or not, shit-head?
No! I'm working.
See you tomorrow. - He's working! Miserable ass!
If he could just drop dead, that one!
Wednesday, October 10 Saint Borgia
I have to go to Paris.
When?
Oh, a day or two from now.
To do what?
To look at a new tractor.
I don't know the train times, but
if I leave early in the morning I'll be back in time for dinner.
Since I have, in principle, your agreement, sir,
may I ask you what would be the amount
in which I'd remain indebted to you for having defended my cause?
300,000 francs.
Fine.
But I'd like to ask you a question.
Go right ahead.
For what reason do you choose me as your lawyer?
Because I believe you are an exceptional man,
unique, I would almost say, a phenomenon.
Aren't you on your hundredth acquittal?
For almost twenty years, haven't you torn from the arms of the guillotine
the most hideous of criminals?
You'll allow me to take some pride in that.
But since you honor me by granting me this rather singular quality,
the question I asked you is the more pertinent.
Why choose me,
since you were the indirect victim of the crime that's been committed?
The assassin is known, she's behind bars, she can't deny her crime,
this crime touches you, you are better than an innocent man.
I choose as a lawyer the known defender
of the guilty. Why? - Yes, why?
Because I hate that little creature
who killed my stepbrother.
And because, since it's a civil action, I could fear only one thing:
that she'd have you
as a lawyer.
Whereas, in becoming the adversary of the one who will defend her,
you will put me at ease.
In that case I am sure of her condemnation.
That's exactly why I'm going to ask you to let me have
forty-eight hours to think about it.
What you were hoping for just now, I have reason to fear.
As the adversary of the one who will defend her,
my presence at your side could be, if not fatal,
at least prejudicial to her.
And I wouldn't want that. - But she's a criminal.
Yes. But even if she has only one chance, it must be left to her.
Are you willing to give me forty-eight hours to think about it?
With pleasure.
I'll see you out.
Have you decided to tell me no?
Frankly, not yet.
But having never helped anyone but the guilty,
you'll understand that I hesitate to proclaim, all of a sudden, the opposite
of what I've been saying for twenty years. - I understand very well.
In any case, I'll agree to this:
if in forty-eight hours I tell you no,
it's with the commitment that I won't agree to be her defender.
Thank you.
Your candelabra are very beautiful.
Yes. An arsonist gave them to me.
Goodbye. - Goodbye.
Who called five minutes ago?
A man who refuses to tell his name,
who is as nervous as can be, almost agitated,
and who begs you to receive him.
In short, he seems like someone who would rather not run into the police.
It seems like it.
I'll see him in a moment.
Sir,
I won't wait forty-eight hours
to tell you
that, to my very great regret,
it will not be possible for me to assist you in this matter.
Don't hold it against me,
and bear in mind that I will willingly keep
the promise I made to you.
I have the honor to remain, etc.
I'll sign this letter as soon as it's done, and please send it tonight.
Have this person come in who won't say his name.
Come in, please. Sit down.
I'm listening.
I killed my wife.
When?
Yesterday evening.
How did you kill her?
Well... with a knife?
Yes!
All right.
Would it have been better to poison her?
I didn't say that.
It seemed to me that a knife... - Yes, it's the best thing.
With poison, it's premeditated.
That's what I think, too.
Then, you did premeditate it?
What?
Her death.
Uh...
I'm not the judge.
Ah, that's right.
No, well, it can't be said that I premeditated it.
It's just the way things happened.
Exactly.
And yet you just said that the knife was the best thing of all.
It was you who said it.
What are you talking about?
You asked me if I killed her with a knife.
And you said yes.
Yes, naturally. So, the idea of the knife, you're the one who had it.
What you're saying is absurd.
No... It's just that I'm expressing it badly.
Would it have been better if I had killed her differently?
But of course not.
Anyway, what's done is done.
All right.
Then I was right to do it that way.
I already told you, yes.
All right. I just wanted to know if I understood right.
You have to excuse me if I'm a little nit-picky.
Crimes are your life, right? Basically the only people you meet are assassins
So you can't help being used to it.
But me, it's the first time I've killed somebody.
So, obviously, I'm a little bit of a panic.
I just wanted to know if I didn't make a mistake.
Maybe there were some precautions I should have taken.
That's the very reason I'm asking you questions.
Fine!
So, you're not mad at me
for what I said? - Of course not. Let's go on.
No, but it's because you said the word "premeditated" that my ears perked up.
Well, fine, I withdraw it.
Without having been premeditated, nonetheless this idea
was on your mind.
It's just that for months I couldn't take it any more.
That's all I wanted to know.
You were older than she? - By one year.
Did she drink?
A lot? - Way too much.
Was she cheating on you?
Well, I'm not sure.
But you assume so, without having proof of it?
Exactly.
So, deep down, you felt betrayed by her.
That's it.
It's hard to say this, but when one has committed a crime, one should use
everything that might extenuate it. - Of course.
So, she was cheating on you.
I'd bet my head on it.
You should avoid that phrase.
Yes.
Let's get back to the knife.
With pleasure.
But first tell me, why have you chosen me as your lawyer?
Oh, well...
You knew me by name? - Vaguely,
three days ago, but the other night I made your acquaintance by radio.
The things you said, and also the way you said them, impressed me a lot.
And when I heard that you were on your hundredth acquittal,
I said, well, there's your man!
Would you have killed her
if you hadn't first heard that interview?
Maybe not.
All right... The knife?
Ah!
I'm listening.
No, it's I who must hear you.
Oh, that's right.
You gave her several blows?
Only one. Was I right?
Yes, that's better for you...
and for her. - It's more of an "accident."
We're not asking for as much as that.
Where did you stab her?
Well, you see...
In the belly? - In the belly. Yes...
I didn't look.
But she's dead?
Yes, of course.
Don't worry about that.
How is it that you're still free?
Because it isn't known.
Maybe now it's known, but this morning when I left,
it wasn't known yet.
Where do you live?
Rémonville.
1, place Jean Jaurès.
Your name, given name, title?
Paul, Louis, Victor, Braconnier.
You put that as your profession? [braconnier = poacher]
No... Braconnier, that's my family name.
My trade is horticulture.
Your current wealth?
700,000.
Eh? - 700,000.
She knew that?
Oh... Just about.
And of course she was interested.
By the way, you must charge a lot for a case like mine.
We'll talk about that later.
That's right.
Your age? - 53.
You were married for... - Thirty years.
You've never been convicted?
I mean, not for theft,...
Oh, no! On the contrary.
Fine. Let's return to the knife. Where was it?
In the belly.
Yes, but before?
It was there, like that...
On the table? - On the table.
You didn't take it out of the drawer?
It was she who set the table?
She always sets the table. Or rather, used to set it.
All right.
She never made the least attempt at murder in your direction?
No...
Not to my knowledge.
She hadn't bought
a revolver recently, for example?
Well...
No. That would have been good, right?
Of course.
Unfortunately, no. Oh...
Too bad.
So, yesterday evening, she was drunk. - Yes.
Would you have a witness
to her state of intoxication?
Certainly.
Without going so far as to plead self-defense,
did you ever feel threatened by her?
Yes.
She often said to me: "Won't you ever drop dead?"
That, really...
That's not a thing to say! - No, certainly.
But it's more a hope than a threat.
A gesture would have more eloquence.
How would a soup tureen do for you?
A soup tureen?
A soup tureen, that big, what if she threw it at my head?
But did she do it? - Yes!
- Was it a long time ago? - Yesterday evening.
That's good, very good.
Just a second before... before she was struck by the knife.
So, a reflex.
Or better still, a defense. - Yes.
You took the knife because after all she was threatening to throw
the soup tureen at you. - And since the table was between us...
Leaning forward to throw the soup tureen at you, she, so to speak,
stuck herself. - Yes, that's it!
Oh, it's fun, isn't it?
What's fun?
The way you reconstruct the scene.
That's what experience counts for.
I hope I haven't forgotten anything. Don't wait to be arrested.
Go have yourself taken into custody right away.
Yes. Right away.
As soon as you get back. - Yes!
Then, six hours later, designate me as your attorney.
But above all, don't speak.
Say that you won't speak unless I am present.
I'll show you out.
And let me know
what prison you're in. - It will be Evreux, probably.
You won't be too bad off there. - You've been there yourself?
I've gone there as a lawyer. - Ah!
But, just to wrap up,
This conversation between us...
might not ever have happened.
Should I recopy the notes that you took?
No, I'd rather finish them myself.
Is it an interesting case?
Yes, easy. I would even say banal
if the man weren't so extraordinary.
He's a kind of captivating monster
who exudes a singular charm.
He has something in him both
of the Chimera
and of the clown.
Have I got another appointment?
Not to my knowledge.
The prosecutor of the Republic.
You had him go into the living room? Yes, sir.
Fine, thank you.
Ask him to come in, please.
Hello, my dear colleague and friend. Mr. Prosecutor, welcome.
I won't try to hide the pleasant surprise your visit brings me.
Please see it as evidence of the interest I take in you,
and I specifically wanted my visit to have no official nature.
To receive you in my office would have attracted attention
and, to tell the whole story, at 5:00 I have to be
at the house of Mrs. de Mongerond who lives across the street.
I jumped at the coincidence,
And here I am completely at ease,
to tell you now in the most cordial, the most even tone possible
the least pleasant thing in the world:
the interview you gave to the radio the night before last
has had the worst possible effect, I won't conceal it from you.
Those who heard it repeat your words,
and everyone else misrepresents them.
Don't say anyting in response. What's done is done.
But be on your guard.
For one thing, your hundred acquittals of which you are so proud, most justly,
have made you countless enemies at the Palais.
I perfectly understand that you don't care at all about it,
but on the other hand, your unexpected arguments,
which you sometimes push to the point of paradox,
could eventually have rather unpleasant consequences.
What consequences?
I'll tell you.
President Bercholdt and I saw each other this morning,
and we did not disagree in thinking
that the distinction you are pleased to make
between murderer and criminal might be disturbing to people's consciences.
Excuse me, Mr. Prosecutor, I'm not the one who acquits them.
I don't hold your acquittals against you...
Permit me to say I'm glad to hear it.
I don't hold anything against you,
except perhaps the rather sharp tone of your response.
We are not in court here, Mr. Aubanal, and I happen to be in your house.
Please forgive me. - I do so gladly,
Out of esteem for your talent.
But...
Maybe I haven't made myself clear.
When I say that your arguments might disturb people's conscience,
I'm not talking about the conscience of judges or juries
But of that of countless eventual murderers
who follow debates, who read newspapers,
and who carry you in their hearts.
It's not the magistrate who's talking to you here,
it's the man,
it's the friend, who wonders if your exceptional
and at times very singular eloquence might not be of such a kind, I repeat,
as to encourage crime.
Yes!
How can we be sure that one day some wretch might not say to himself:
"I'm going to kill my father, or my mother, or my daughter
and all I have to do is get Aubanel as my lawyer"?
I heard it last night, at the Opera, jokingly, from a lady.
That... - I agree.
But after all the idea came to her. Would it have without your interview?
I couldn't say.
There were five of us, in my box,
talking about it.
- But that phrase, did she say that? - She summed it up like this:
"With a man like Aubanel, there's no need to worry. I'm buying a gun tomorrow."
I'm checking the time, excuse me, I have two minutes.
I hope you don't take what I've said
in the wrong way.
I have no hidden intention, believe that right away.
On my way up the stairs I passed a man
who was leaving your house at the same moment.
What man was that?
A killer? - Yes.
A murderer, you'll tell me. - Yes.
Did he speak to you about your interview?
Yes.
Well then. Am I wrong, in your opinion?
No...
What do you want me to do?
Should I help the justice system condemn one out of every two people?
Of course not!
I won't give any more interviews, I promise you that.
But I was in a good mood, we were celebrating...
Your hundredth success.
Yes, you had your one-hundredth, as playwrights do.
But after all, justice isn't theater.
Oh? - No.
And get rid of those pithy formulas that made your reputation,
but that are dangerous in the extreme.
Like this one,
about people whom, you claim, are inhabitual murderers.
You say: "An assassin, many times, is just a thief who is interrupted."
No,
don't excuse theft too much.
Would you like me to have a false beard made
and plead in court sometimes under a false name?
That new lawyer would become famous after a month.
That would make two instead of one.
Better not to.
Aubanel... - Mr. Prosecutor?
If a man or a woman bringing civil action in a criminal trial
came to see you tomorrow and asked for your assistance,
what would you do?
I would accept. - Thank you.
I'll go hear you on that day.
Aubanel getting an assassin convicted.
Unless at the last minute, losing my head, or making a mistake,
I come to his defense.
You love assassins and thieves so much as that?
Less than the public.
If newspapers didn't report the crimes that were committed the day before,
they'd lose at least half their readers.
And yet killing is vile.
Yes, but it keeps so many people alive.
Hmm? - Yes.
You're sleeping on the floor now?
You must have been drunk.
Mind your own business.
You'll probably want to eat.
No, but I'm thirsty.
Some more.
More.
Go get some, if you want more.
I'm keeping this for myself.
You don't think you're drunk enough yet?
I'm never drunk enough to forget your face.
You had the time
to forget my face a little while ago when I wasn't here, didn't you?
Maybe you had a good time.
Had a good time?
With whom would I have a good time?
With your Jules.
With my Jules? What Jules?
Oh, give me a break... A person knows what he knows.
You mean Jules Martinet? - Well, there you are!
You're too much of an ass, I'm not even going to answer.
It's a good idea to shut everything up,
It's better people don't hear you talk such crap.
Jealous, now? That's all that was missing.
Go find yourself some wine, it'll be better for you, moron.
We'll talk about it later.
All you want, asshole...
I would rather
work the earth than put on elastic boots
We would rather work the earth than put on white gloves
Come on, be strong.
Three bottles, you'll remember, right?
You can be sure. - I'll pay tomorrow.
There, there.
Come on. Clink glasses with me now.
After all, you're more stupid than bad.
You don't want to make peace?
All right, let's both get up
Since you want to clink glasses.
A gun shot.
I don't think so, but it's not something much better.
Can't hear anything. That's not a good sign.
No? - Why?
If one of them got killed, we'd hardly hear the other one scream.
Don't you think we should tell the police?
They don't like it when we bother them for nothing.
What makes you think it's nothing?
It's time for them to make their rounds, let's wait for them.
I see you all frozen here, What's happened?
Good evening, father.
A moment ago we heard some loud noise from the Braconniers', then nothing.
So we were wondering if maybe something had happened.
And since they're always fighting-
But things were going better between them, the last two days.
That's true, I noticed.
Anyway, I'm not in favor of getting mixed up in others' business.
That's why I was saying we ought to tell the police.
There they are,
the policemen.
We could mention something about it. - You're making a mistake.
No. It's better not to smell like wine.
There he is.
I just killed her.
I was just going to go have myself taken into custody.
Follow us.
Don't touch anything.
Where is the corpse? - There.
Ah, yes.
So, exactly what happened?
I won't answer unless my attorney is present.
That's your absolute right. - Something's broken over there.
That's the soup tureen she threw at my head.
I was there, she was here.
What's going on?
A drama at the Braconniers'.
What kind of drama?
A killing!
A killing?
That doesn't surprise me. I'm coming down right away.
Why doesn't it surprise him?
Have a drink.
No, thank you.
It'll pull you together. - Out of the question.
The police are there? - Yes!
I'll go. She killed him, the bitch!
No, she didn't!
I'm telling you, yes.
When I say something, you can believe it. Let me alone.
Maybe he knows more than we do.
Still he thinks it's Paul who's dead. - Because he's deaf.
He killed her out of jealousy. - Jealousy?
It seems she was Jules's mistress.
Which Jules?
Martinet. I heard him accuse her of it.
Well, what do you know?
See what that is.
What is it?
Have him take this right away. It's an antidote.
Have someone let me in, and I'll tell you everything.
He's gone mad! An antidote for a knife wound!
What are you saying? - Nothing.
Leave me alone!
Come in.
Not you!
Give me the little vial, I'll make him drink it.
Apparently she was Jules's mistress.
Jules's mistress!
Excuse me...
She bought some rat poison from me four days ago.
Drink, my poor friend, drink.
But she's the one who's dead.
What did you say? - She's the one who's dead.
Ah, I see...
But she died of a knife wound.
Yes!
Here, quickly!
He caught them together, Jules and her,
And that's why he killed her.
The pharmacist just died of an embolism.
A visitor for you.
A visitor? - No more than five minutes.
Jules! - Good old Paul!
Let me give you a hug.
I've brought your old suit
and some little treats.
We all put in together to give you this surprise.
The hard-boiled eggs are Mrs. Michaud.
The slices of ham are Gustave.
The chocolate is Ernestine.
And the gruyère is me.
How did you manage to get in here?
Germaine's brother used to be the lover of the wife of the head guard.
Oh, so that's it.
And in the village, how's it going?
It's going very well.
But, concerning me?
It's going very well.
There no one who's not on your side because this has done us all good.
Done you good? How?
For business.
You know you've had some very good articles in the newspapers.
What do you mean, "very good"?
On the front page.
And very long, with the titles in big letters,
Rémonville, here, Rémonville, there.
So, you can imagine!
Photographers, cars all day long that now go through the town
thanks to the sign they put on the Evreux road.
For the whole region, it's a windfall! To give you an idea,
at our little café, you know... - Yes.
They've added eight tables on the terrace.
And as for the house of the crime...
that's what your house is called now...
let's not even talk about it!
What's happening? - Visitors from morning to night.
Sometimes they need people to control the lines!
The pieces of the soup tureen are in a glass case.
As for the knife you used, they stuck it
right in a loaf of bread on the kitchen table,
with a "Don't touch" sign.
It's considered as a relic, you understand?
Because you've become popular, my old Paul,
And whatever will happen to you,
be assured Rémonville and its inhabitants aren't ingrates,
and you can count on their gratitude.
Well, all right.
She won't put any more
water in my glass
because now Poison is dead.
Come on, altogether.
She won't put any more water in my glass
because that ugly woman Poison is dead.
We're beginning to know it, right?
Braconnier, your lawyer is asking for you.
At last!
You can call yourself lucky to have such a lawyer.
With a man like Aubanel, you're saved. - That's the reason I chose him.
You've had your black coffee? - Yes, thanks.
Hello.
How I wanted to see you! I couldn't stand it any more.
Especially since you're going to hear some terrific news.
She tried to poison me. You can be happy! Absolutely.
Four days before the crime, she bought some rat poison from the pharmacist,
and there were never rats at our house!
I learned it from the pharmacist, who slipped it in my ear before dying,
And that's how he died, because he drank my glass.
As of now, of course, I didn't want to say anything, since you advised me
not to talk except in your presence.
But have them do an autopsy on the pharmacist.
With that, it's all set!
I've got your murder attempt, which you were so set on having.
You're pleased with me, I think?
On that point, no doubt,
but there is another one on which I'm much less so.
Ah?
Let's sit down.
I have to talk very seriously to you.
Is there something wrong?
Yes.
Last night I received the declaration made by the Evreux police
on the evening of the crime,
And I need an immediate explanation. - About what?
About the date of the killing.
The declaration reads:
"We went to the place of the crime
on Thursday, October 11, at 20:00."
So? - Wait a moment.
"Dr. Fromanger stated that the victim had received a knife wound in the abdomen
and that her death occurred about twenty minutes
previously." - And so?
What do you mean, "and so?"
Therefore you killed her on the evening of the 11th?
What's so extraordinary about that?
But it was on the 11th that you came to see me, during the day.
So?
Telling me you had killed your wife the night before,
when in reality you killed her four hours later.
For her, it doesn't change anything, for me neither in fact.
But for me, it changes everything.
I don't see what importance it has
that I killed her on Thursday instead of Wednesday.
But why did you come to see me before you killed her?
For two reasons.
First to find out if I would have you as a lawyer,
and also so that you'd tell me how I should go about it.
No one could have advised me better than you.
The proof is that I followed
all your instructions. - My instructions?
The knife on the table, the soup tureen at the head,
the jealousy scene before, everything was done. I'll even say, scrupulously.
Scrupulously?
I didn't want you to blame me for anything afterward.
If I hadn't lied, if I'd said to you: "I want to kill her tonight,
how should I go about it?", you'd have thrown me right out.
Whereas by saying I'd killed her the night before, I reassured you.
And since you have a passion for crimes,
the questions you asked me showed me what I should do.
So you accuse me of having...
Pardon me, I don't accuse you, that would be stupid of me,
but I'm grateful to you for having guided me so well.
Guided?
It wasn't me who had the idea of the knife.
I wanted to poison her. That's the first idea that comes
to us people who aren't in the business.
You preferred the knife, I went with the knife.
What I don't understand is why you seem annoyed.
Don't you understand that if such a thing were known...
But it doesn't have to be known, don't say anything!
In an affair like this the two of us should walk
hand in hand. We're a little like two accomplices, you understand.
That's exactly what I don't want.
But I don't see any better way to get us out of it.
And if I refused to plead your case?
That wouldn't be very clever of you.
And why not?
I'd get revenge, by saying you were the one who made me kill her.
I wouldn't do it out of meanness, but in order to save my head.
And it would be the truth,
because between you and me, I can say it now,
I might never have killed her without you.
The proof is that for a few days I was hesitating between her and me.
One of the two of us was too much,
I said that to Mrs. Tiberghen, the florist. Somehow we had to separate,
either by my getting rid of her or getting rid of myself,
or else by waiting for her to get rid of me.
And if I got rid of her,
it's because you gave me courage by agreeing to take my defense.
It's crucial, at this moment, to have you as my lawyer.
Let me tell you, in prison, one is treated better right away
when they know you're one's lawyer.
To be defended by Aubanel, for these people,
is almost like being innocent, because acquittal is certain.
That's why I'm warning you, I'll be terrible for you if you drop me.
To make me kill my wife, that's violent.
But to have me guillotined on top of that, that's totally out of bounds.
So, no fooling around, all right?
And I'm counting on you.
All the more since - forgive me -
just as you're doing me a service,
I'm doing you one, and because I've followed all your instructions
I'm bringing you an acquittal that's already all cooked.
One more! And a great one!
Would you happen to have a cigarette, by any chance?
No, thank you.
Do you have a light? - No.
Jailer.
Jailer!
A light.
So you can't do anything.
Take that.
So, we're in agreement?
Tell me about this rat poison.
With pleasure.
Just think, if I'd killed her the way I was going to, you'd be saying today:
"Next time, come see me first before doing something so stupid."
Julie Poitrinot, Jules Martinet,
André and Germaine Chavillard
Father Métivet
and Amélie Bertelon.
Thérèse Chignol, Victor Boitevin,
Ernestine Abajoue.
So, what, we're all witnesses? - Get going, you're late already.
Louis Colledepate and Gustave Battendier.
Come on, get going.
Goodbye!
Thank you.
Hey! You over there!
You heard your parents, I'm in charge while they're gone and you'd better obey me.
So, have fun, but don't hurt yourselves.
Braconnier, have you understood the charge?
Yes, yes.
All that's very pretty.
But the main thing is missing.
I was in a circumstance of self-defense
and that's not mentioned.
Even though that changes everything.
You're trying to make me an assassin, but it won't work,
because if I hadn't killed my wife, I'd be the one who'd be dead,
And blaming me for killing her is like blaming me for not being dead.
And if I were the one who was dead,
she'd be the one who would be here today before you, in this place.
And far more guilty than we...
"We." He admits the two of us were in it together.
Yes, much more guilty,
For having bought the rat poison three days before,
she thus premeditated her crime!
Excuse me.
When you killed her, you didn't know she herself had criminal intentions.
Intentions? You really make me laugh.
She put rat poison
in my glass, and you call that "intentions."
It seems to me it's more like a fact!
Fine! And this fact, you weren't aware of it!
In that case I deserve more praise for having guessed at it.
I saw in her eyes that she wanted me dead.
Then I saw the knife too, and I took it right away,
so that she wouldn't get it...
And you killed her.
I defended myself.
So well that for once, your honor, the punishment
preceded the crime.
And I think you have a lot of nerve to make a case against me out of it,
when it ought to serve as a lesson for you.
You're going too far. - Not in the least.
And I insist on being clear on this point. My wife was an assassin,
we all agree on that. Fine.
In killing her, I did nothing other than what you would have done yourself.
Please be quiet. - No, I won't be quiet.
Because that's what you're doing. Only, you're doing it too late,
with that habit you have of waiting till someone is killed.
You do justice, I won't say you don't,
but that makes one more dead person.
With my own system there's one less.
If I'd come to you before and said, "My wife is going to kill me tomorrow,"
Could you have done something for me? Nothing at all.
If I'd asked you permission to kill her before she killed me,
you wouldn't have given it to me,
and you would have let me get poisoned without even lifting your little finger.
That's why I just said to you today
you have a lot of nerve to blame me for doing your work.
This is insane.
I've noticed something extraordinary:
how much the fact of having committed a crime develops the intelligence.
In normal times, I would never have been as brilliant as I was just now.
Madame, where did they all go?
Who? - Our parents.
To Pont-L'Evêque. - And why did they go there?
To attend Mr. Braconnier's trial.
The man who killed his wife?
That's right. - They're lucky!
Don't touch that.
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth? - That's not a question to be asked.
Yes, it's to be asked.
Let's say it's not to be refused.
Look, I swear it, just like all the liars who came to lean on this little balcony.
Your reflections are not needed.
Some manners they have here.
Tell me about it.
You have a fabric shop
in Rémonville. - I don't deny it, I'll even swear it.
Once is enough.
All right, I have a fabric shop at your service.
One question. - Don't be shy.
To your knowledge...
To my knowledge! I have no knowledge. - Yes, you do!
I don't. I've never given my husband horns to wear.
But that's not what I'm asking.
That's the way I understood it.
You were mistaken.
Then let's talk about something else.
I'd like to know if Paul Braconnier, in your opinion, was a person
who would wish his wife dead.
Why, of course.
What do you mean, "of course"?
If I say "of course," it's because it goes without saying.
Did you hear him say that to her?
It wouldn't have struck me.
It wouldn't have struck you?
Listen, who among us hasn't wished for her husband's death?
That kind of thing is part of the flow of married life,
And we don't get along any worse for it.
Those who are of my kind can witness it.
Mr. President, I find this woman's remarks
monstrous.
What hypocrites they are!
Ask the curé and find out.
Father, you hear our confessions, come help me.
You wouldn't dare ask me to betray the secrets of the confession.
Without naming names, of course. Don't be afraid, ladies!
Tell these gentlemen how numerous are the parishioners of yours
who accuse themselves of having wished for the deaths of those close to them.
Numerous... numerous... - There are some, aren't there?
There are a few.
The scrupulous ones.
Yes, that's the word.
We think alike.
And what did his wife do that was so bad, that he killed her?
People do wonder about that.
If people wonder about that
that's just what I think. - What's that?
That she must have cuckolded him.
Definitely!
Where did you learn that word?
But even so, weren't you jealous of her?
Oh... well...
You formally declared it at the arraignment.
Because you and I thought it was a good idea,
But I'm not that crazy about it.
I think it even weakens my position.
But why?
Because in view of her appearance,
it's not a credible thing.
You have to let me do as I want, a little.
Tell the president.
I don't dare. - Yes, yes,
it's important.
She cheated on him with Jules Martinet, Mr. President.
Everyone in the region knew about it.
But that's completely false!
I'm not saying it's true, but I heard Paul accuse her of it.
I tell you it's false, false, false!
Why are you so defensive about it?
Because, old man, excuse me,
I'd like to help you, but this, listen, no!
She didn't seem to you, uh, possible?
No, hey... frankly.
I agree. We're all in agreement on that.
André, Henri, Gustave, Victor, Fernand.
I ask you, could you have done what I'm thinking of with my wife?
Well?
What's more, I brought you a photograph.
Hold on...
A photograph of my wife, taken two years ago.
Would you be good enough to pass this to these gentlemen?
That will convince them more than anything I could say.
No need to ask you gentlemen if any of you would ever have wanted to...
Please don't continue on this subject.
But come on, Braconnier,
Do you, then, consider yourself handsome?
Aha! Then you admit that she was ugly.
Answer my question:
Do you consider yourself handsome? - No more than you, sir.
What do you mean, no more than I?
No, I don't think I'm any handsomer than you think you are yourself.
Anyway, it's not about that.
It's not my beauty that matters today, but hers.
Because after all it's never a question of knowing if a woman can or can't,
if she wants to,
or she doesn't want to, which is secondary anyway,
whereas the man, he has to be able to.
He can't get through it by closing his eyes.
I don't know if I make myself clear?
Anyway, I prefer to be accused of having killed her for that, too,
rather than having it said that I was jealous of her.
Because I value your esteem.
Is Mr. Braconnier going to be guillotined?
I hope not.
Why?
Because you should never wish for a man's death.
And a woman's, is it all right? - Of course not!
In your world,
when you can't stand your wife anymore,
first you cheat on her, and then, you end up asking for a divorce.
In the country, it's different.
Peasants don't get divorced.
They wait for the other person to die before trying to remake their life.
Sometimes they have to wait a long time.
What nerve he has!
It's intolerable!
A son who kills his father, he's a parricide?
Yes.
A mother who kills her son? - An infanticide.
And a husband who kills his wife? - An assassin.
Yesterday Daddy said it was a widower!
Do you regret having committed your crime?
That will depend on you.
If you convict me, I'll regret it, fatally.
But if you acquit me, well, in that case, certainly not!
Well. - If I had just wounded her,
and she were healed now, I'd rather be convicted than go back to live with her.
But it would really be bad luck if, having killed her,
you didn't let me enjoy life a little.
Not a word of regret! Not a word of pity!
No, sir. Not a word. Not one.
No, sir.
To make you understand that she deserved her punishment.
Do you have regrets
when you condemn someone?
Surely not. Well, neither do I.
What would I be like if I had regrets?
A marionette.
What are you doing over there?
We're playing husband and wife, and my piece of wood is a knife.
Now, now, that's no game, come on.
And I would say still more
if his acquittal seemed to me in doubt.
That's good stuff.
You're not ashamed of having killed this woman?
The accused will rise.
On my soul and conscience, before God and before men,
You are accused of killing your wife.
We condemn you to have your head cut off.
For these reasons,
Paul Braconnier...
What are they doing?
They're crazy!
You call these games? I won't have any of this.
Pardoned!