On July 17, 1676, Marie d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers,
accused of sorcery and convicted of having poisoned her father,
her two brothers and several other persons, was taken to the Place de Greve
where she was beheaded and her body burnt.
Her ashes were scattered on the wind.
The tribunal that sentenced her was called
THE BURNING COURT
Tell me, how do you like it?
Enchanting...
- And rather sinister. - The Black Forest.
Whose dark paths are haunted by sombre mystery.
Very poetic.
Except for that racing car on my tail.
Drop dead.
Greetings, venerable Henderson.
- My compliments for the garden. - There used to be eight of us.
Now I'm alone and I do what I can.
You were not expected this year.
Vacation time, where can one be happier than in the bosom of one's family?
My dear uncle gets weaker by the day?
- He's been having improvements and relapses. - Well, how much longer can he last?
He certainly remembered you in his will.
Don't you want the reward for 30 years of slavery?
Well, here comes your brother.
No, it's not his car.
It's the road hog.
I certainly had no idea, forgive me.
- Of course. - Michel Boissard...
and my wife.
We've exchanged a few letters, and you've been kind enough to invite me here.
You must mean my brother Marc.
My husband will take care of your luggage.
A nice little apartment for someone living alone.
At one time a mansion stood in this place, our family's ancestral home.
It was demolished by my uncle Mathias.
He was rich, he was in love, and for his love he had the château built.
My aunt died and I was stuck with this white elephant.
Follow the guide for a closer look at this work of art
I won't see Stephane, so keep him away.
You're just as mad when he doesn't come.
Because he refuses to admit I exist.
And when he comes you're angry.
Because I know why he comes.
He's no good.
But more amusing than his brother Marc.
I don't want to see him.
As for my guests, I have misgivings.
That young man is common, he smokes a pipe, I hate that.
Still, his wife seems interesting.
- Your medicine. - No, it doesn't do any good.
I'm going to shave and put on my cravat.
It's really love at first sight. Now drink it.
- You really want me to? - I do.
I never could refuse a pretty girl.
Too bad there's so little of me.
Please admire the intimate atmosphere of this boudoir.
Marble columns...
crystal chandeliers...
ceilings decorated by the Michelangelo of the pastry school.
Everywhere garlands, festoons and Cubans.
In this room an impressive number of extravagant orgies took place.
15 years of revelry and surprises,
Waltzes, polkas and mazurkas.
And when the lady's death came,
uncle Mathias returned to his room and then bolted up everything.
No more parties, no more champagne, one barely eats,
and as far as entertainment goes, well...
His work is all that matters.
You're a physician?
No, I'm a writer.
I'm on the staff of the "Living History" magazine.
Since your ancestor was Emile Desgrez...
Oh yes, Desgrez the Cop.
Desgrez was, as I understand, supposed to have arrested
the famous poisoner Marquise de Brinvilliers.
Yes, he was her lover and then he betrayed her. Some gentleman.
It seems there are many unpublished documents here
which your brother has invited me to read.
Details of that old story never interested me.
What is your opinion, Madame?
I believe there are some dead that should stay dead.
But you forget, to make them live is pan of my work.
- May I please show you to your room? - Until later.
An old crack bell rings for lunch,
meagre, and dinner, frugal.
Aren't you getting out?
The way grass grows all over this place,
soon you won't be able to enter the grounds.
How could he live in this dilapidated building?
It still looks the same.
I too would prefer Deauville or St Tropez but one has to have patience.
Yes, but for how long?
As long as necessary.
- Your guests got here before you. - My car has broken down.
- Is that their car? - My latest acquisition.
- And where'd you get the money? - I was lucky at cards.
- Have you seen uncle? - No, not yet.
- You might show him a bit more interest. - He's cross with me again.
He's hurt about the life you've been living.
How, Marc?
Your latest scandal at the Grand Hotel.
I'm young, I find life amusing.
- If you want an opinion... - I am not interested.
Oh look, we barely said hello and you two are at it again.
Go and meet your uncle, I'm going to my room. Come on, Stephane.
I'll put the car away.
I feel sorry for you, Lucie, Marc is such a bore.
- You take pleasure in provoking him. - The sight of the car made him wince.
Marc has been angry because his clients don't pay.
They don't pay,
or they don't come, which?
You've always been nasty.
Marc is very particular about the oases he will plead.
- But in a few years... - I haven't got the time to wait.
- Do you sell many cars? - I make out.
To tell the truth, the Porsche isn't mine, it belongs to a customer.
But don't tell Marc, let him stew a bit. It's so amusing.
Mme. Henderson, we'll have one more guest tonight...
Doctor Hermann, whom I want to introduce to our friends.
I can make an omelette first.
No just soup, a good soup.
Good afternoon, mademoiselle. How is our patient?
He'd be terrific if it weren't for those spells.
What does the doctor say?
The same, and to continue with the bland diet.
Is his load difficult?
Lately M. Desgrez won't leave the room...
- Just exercises patience. - It's something of which you have plenty.
I'm most grateful.
- Who is there? - It's me, Marc.
Come in.
I don't remember how to knot it, you tie it.
Oh, shaved and fresh. You're looking quite cheerful today.
Only last Thursday I had another attack. It was almost the end of me.
Mlle. Schneider told me you're doing well.
Sure, at her age what does she know?
You know, our guest M. Boissard has arrived.
Oh yes, the young man who came to investigate the Desgrez legend.
I caught a glimpse of him and his wife.
He's most undistinguished but I liked her right away.
You don't know what good breeding is nowadays.
I also know Stephane is here.
But I don't want to see him, Marc.
But still he's concerned about your health.
Yes, but he's no stranger to measuring how many more weeks I have.
I know he's calculating...
Fortunately, he's poor at maths.
My wife Lucie would like to see you, uncle.
Yes, but later. There's no hurry.
Don't you have the feeling this is a rather queer place?
- And you're the one who wanted to come. - It's a professional necessity.
Why, just to see an old fool?
A direct descendant of the famous Desgrez who jailed the Marquise.
I work from historical documents.
But the Brinvilliers never came to Germany.
That's right.
When her little game of arsenic poisoning was up,
she fled Paris and took refuge in Liege.
In a convent.
And then a priest betrayed her.
A fake priest, a policeman disguised as a court abbot.
The Desgrez in question.
A protestant who emigrated from France and settled here.
- It's still a story of betrayal. - Perhaps.
But a story of a fake priest making love to a Marquise,
spiced with poison and sorcery...
Our readers will be delighted.
Can you help me?
- Have you told them about me? - But of course.
That's why old Desgrez, who never sees anyone,
has made an exception for us.
Does he know my name is Marie d'Aubray?
Of course, of the Brinvilliers, a direct descendant.
Just imagine, how exciting,
after 3 centuries, the heirs come face to face.
It's quite a meeting.
I'd better change my clothes, it must be rather stuffy here.
What about you?
- I think I'm alright.
I'll walk for a little while, in the garden.
Look out for the ghost of Emile Desgrez.
How is he?
Much better than I hoped.
He will live for a hundred years, and we'll be old when he's dead.
Has he asked for me?
- He said... - understood.
He hates me and doesn't hide it any more.
Patience has its limit.
- I have patience. - Of course.
You'll get back to work on your business, so will Stephane,
but I'll stay alone in this loony's house.
I come back every week-end.
You will call me.
I just can't strangle him to please you!
Such a big fortune demands a few sacrifices.
Are you sure about his last will?
I know him well.
What if he changes it, suddenly?
What would we have been on holidays here for?
For pleasure?
He'll change nothing as long as he believes we love each other.
Patience.
Marie d'Aubray, Marquise of Brinvilliers.
I can tell,
that's you.
I'm hateful to you.
I have no reason for hating.
He was a handsome boy,
you had never loved like this before.
But my ancestor betrayed you, tricked you.
A woman forgives for love.
My most prized possession is a letter written by the Marquise,
just before her ordeal by torture.
They put a funnel down her throat and poured in water, 14 gallons of water.
Just before she was going to be burnt at the stake,
she wrote a letter to her lover.
One of hate?
One of love?
You shall read the letter.
Little Marquise, we're being called to the table.
You will excuse me but I always eat by myself.
Old people are sloppy, droll and they annoy people with their rules.
This policeman, cloaked as a priest,
spends a month in a convent for women without being discovered...
Doctor, don't you find it somewhat incredible?
Those times there were receptions held in convents, and the nuns entertained.
It's an historical fact.
They ate well and drank heartily...
and some even...
Historical and human.
As for your ancestor Emile Desgrez, dressed as a court abbot,
he purportedly came to study some old records.
Excellent, a policeman who's also a protestant disguised as a catholic.
Necessity justifies the means.
What counts is that he succeeded.
In memory of Emile Desgrez.
Count me out.
A poisoner in a convent is much worse than a policeman.
To the legend, or History.
I'm not thirsty.
Let's drink instead to the health of my friend Mathias.
Thirty years of friendship, I've known him young and in love.
- Really? - Yes, passionate.
But the death of his wife broke his spirit.
He took refuge in his library, and together we are visited by the dead if not the living.
We've made many a fine journey together.
The two of you strode brooms perhaps?
Witchcraft is a science, older than medicine.
As a doctor,
I can affirm that most maladies are of the mind and spirit.
When I was banned from the profession, yes, Madame, banned from medicine...
for taking pity on a girl about to drown herself.
Mathias was the only friend who stood by me.
To the comrade's recovery.
Well Marie?
It's you, I...
What's the matter?
Nothing.
I don't like these people and I don't like this house.
I think Stephane is rather amusing, no?
As to Doctor Hermann, he's quite a character.
- The idea of toasting this scoundrel. - That was ancient history.
Let's go in.
I wouldn't sleep a wink.
Don't sleep then.
If it's true that you look like the Marquise,
then the Marquise could make me fall in love with her.
What's upsetting you?
You haven't seen the man.
Who?
Old Desgrez.
He's fearsome.
No, he's just a fool.
And the other?
What other?
The doctor.
He frightens me.
I'm drawn to him in spite of my dislike.
Forget about all that.
- I seem to have trouble sleeping, have you a pill?
Of course. All kinds.
It's like a whole pharmacy.
These are quite strong.
I would suggest taking only half a tablet.
- Really? - You must not only sleep,
you must also wake up.
Don' be afraid, it's not unusual.
So, doctor, don't you have a diagnosis?
Your uncle may live, or he may die suddenly.
Trust Mlle. Schneider,
she knows as much as I do about this case.
Feed him very lightly.
- Small portions.
One thousand volumes.
Everything that learned man knows about black magic.
Well, it leaves me cold, my life's history.
But behind real events there's always a touch of mystery.
There have always been secret societies and magical practices
even in our time.
Your Marquise was a historical personality
but she also was a friend of La Voisin, who was a genuine sorceress.
Isn't that so?
I'd like to know what you mean by "genuine sorceress".
Are we playing games or talking seriously?
So.
I wanted to show my books
to M. Boissand.
I didn't do anything, we were just talking.
You know nothing about it.
This rascal used magic to scare females
- and to make passes. - I' m your pupil, old goat.
Look here, everything concerning my ancestor is here, here's the key.
My wife told me about a certain letter of the Marquise.
I have it right here, it is the last letter she wrote before being burnt.
“My love, I am tortured, but that is nothing,
you alone have the power to hurt me.“ Nicely said...
Very pretty.
"I am guilty of abominable crimes,
but your betrayal of love is a crime worse than mine.
May you die a horrible death, you and all of your breed.
By homiel, anachia, aranchia, anazachia". The most terrible curse.
And the irrefutable proof that Emile Desgrez was de Brinvilliers's lover. You may make a copy.
"May you and all your progeny die a horrible death even as I will.
I curse you, Mathias Desgrez, by bell, book and candle."
Uncle Mathias, you and I must have a quiet little talk.
What is this masquerade?
My costume for the ball tonight, isn't it becoming?
Grotesque.
I'm denied your affection, I thought you might soften your heart to a pretty girl.
- I need some money. - I don't care.
Uncle Mathias you, have so much money, be generous, I'm young.
Uncle Mathias, please be kind. Do you want me to commit suicide?
Oh Mathias, you're in your 70s, I'm in my 20s.
If death should strike, should it be the old owl or the young bird?
- Won't you reconsider? - Not a chance.
Have you seen Madame?
She left in car with the lady who has been invited, to fetch her dress for the party.
- Your costume is stupid. - Think yours is any better?
- A Marquis... I think it is. - I can tell you what kind of figure you'll cut...
but I've got to spare your feelings. I need money.
- So do I. - It's terribly important.
- So it is for me. - I'm desperate, can't you help me out?
Not a sou.
Here is Dr Hermann's house.
What do you think of him?
Who?
Strange.
Here's the castle where the ball will take place tonight.
Will you attend it?
We could pick a disguise for you.
I can't dance.
Neither can Michel.
Still on honeymoon?
Yes, still.
Knock on wood.
- Don't you love your husband any more? - I do...
I adore him...
but life is hard...
and noble feelings get spoiled in everyday problems.
You must be right.
But soon, you'll be very rich.
How do you know?
I know.
I know for sure.
Thank you for the good news.
How come you answer me no before I ask you anything?
Because I know what you're going to ask me.
Tonight, I'll leave the ball and slip into your room
- As you like it. - And I'll slowly slip into your bed.
If that's what you want...
I won't be there. It's my day off.
So, is there anything else you'd like?
No, everything's perfect, dear Madame.
Are you sure you don't want to accompany us?
- I asked her but... - I have a headache.
What a shame. Well, I must say that here one is apt to get depressed.
- I've been through all this before.
The invitation says dinner at 11 but I wouldn't count on it. There are over 100 guests.
Marquis, pass the sausage.
Are you fixing that for me?
No, it's for your uncle.
Yes, he needs pampering.
- He's such a dear.
Will you make me...
another cheese sandwich, please?
It's a picnic.
Madame, I'll leave the glass for M. Mathias on the refrigerator.
He must drink it at 11 o'clock.
Well, I'm relying on you.
I'm sorry, but I won't be here.
Won't be here?
You mean you won't be here at 11?
Over a week ago I informed Madame and Monsieur that tonight I wouldn't be here.
The same night as Frieda, that's impossible.
I did give notice.
That's true, we've forgotten. Sorry, Mlle. Schneider, but you can't go.
Won't you call and break your date?
Sorry, it won't be possible.
But I insist that you stay.
It's impossible.
Why, this is professionally inexcusable.
If you leave your post here tonight, don't bother to come back.
If that's it, then I resign.
Please forgive me, I couldn't help overhearing...
I'd be glad to take up the glass.
It won't be necessary, I'll be awake, I might as well do it.
That's most kind Augusta...
but it means Uncle will be left unattended.
- Don't worry, there'll be two of us at home. - And two of us in the lodge.
Four people to chaperone a man who doesn't want anyone. That's too many.
Here, you drive.
You're not coming with me?
No, it's not too far, I'd rather walk.
- Till tomorrow. Enjoy yourself.
Well, let's turn in.
It's eleven.
- Madame, M. Mathias is dead. - Dead?
- How was he killed? - What? No, it was another attack during the night.
We knocked, but there was no answer, so we had to break down the door.
Old Desgrez is dead.
- What? - Old Desgrez is dead.
I'm sorry.
Was I sleeping? What time is it?
10:30?
I've never slept so late.
I couldn't wake you. It was very hot last night, and you went to bed late.
I remember.
I was sweating.
And I was thirsty, wasn't I?
And you gave me something?
Water.
I'm still so parched, is there some water around?
What are we going to do here now that they're in mourning?
Shake hands and offer our sincere condolences.
I somehow doubt they'll be that broken-headed.
Was it tasty?
Is it true? Is it over?
Poor uncle...
- Not the way I would have preferred him to go. - Won't you try to be decent?
It isn't very pretty.
How he must have suffered.
- He won't suffer any more, that's one consolation. - He won't be the only one.
- Stop it. - Of course, you're overcome with grief,
- ready to collapse. - Leave me alone.
- Can I be of help?
Telephone Dr Baxter...
- and ask him to notify the coroner. - At once.
Listen...
- How much will the estate be? - A huge fortune, I suppose.
A huge fortune divided two ways...
What would you say?
He had to go of course, we expected it...
but it's still a terrible shock.
- Did you notice anything amiss at 11? - At 11?
I was dancing.
- But when you returned...
Returned?
Our uncle Mathias passed away.
All his suits are like rags.
He was a good uncle, wanted to economise to leave more to us.
Did you notice the book he was reading?
- Should we put a cravat on him? - A bow tie, it's frivolous.
Our dear uncle kicked the bucket with his nose buried in sorcery.
- That's all he ever read. - But what if he discovered
a magic recipe to come back to this world? What a commotion: "Boo, I'm back!"
Your jokes are not amusing.
What are you doing there?
Trying to discover an opening in the wall.
You're out of your head.
I'm not making it up.
I saw it with my own eyes at five past eleven.
When you brought him his eggnog?
But I did not bring it.
I looked in the kitchen for it,
but it wasn't on the refrigerator, it was gone.
A Spirit.
This is no laughing matter, M. Stephane.
First I saw Mme. Lucie go up the stairs,
I spoke out but got no answer.
Madame was at the ball.
No, she was on the stairs.
Well, enter sorcery and magic.
So I followed her, and Madame was here talking to M. Mathias.
You mean...
You saw them from where?
Over there.
Over where?
- Well, through the keyhole. - For shame, Mme. Henderson.
It was like a dream, I didn't know what to think.
These curtains were parted slightly, so I looked through.
And so?
So M. Mathias finds the glass,
and the Mme. Lucie takes it
- and leaves. - And walks through the wall?
Yes, Monsieur, there, between the windows.
Come.
Here.
The doctors will be here within an hour.
Last night did you leave the ball?
No, why do you ask?
Mme. Henderson claims...
I saw Madame give the eggnog to M. Mathias, then I saw Madame...
Walk through the wall and fall into the garden without a single mishap.
I've good eyesight, Monsieur,
- and I'm not mad or senile.
at 11 o'clock you were home sleeping, you woke up abruptly.
It was like a dream, you admitted it.
I may have said that, Monsieur,
but it was no dream and I didn't pick up the glass.
Yet there it is.
Marie, hurry up.
Of course, we don't care, but there are conventions and favours to do.
What?
I don't know,
some procedures...
to keep watch over the old man.
Don't force me to see him again. I don't want to.
You were scared by his eyes. Now they are closed.
What's the matter?
I haven't slept. This heat...
Have a bath, relax...
and I'll go and tell them what a great loss it is and so on and so forth.
I go......
with the appropriate mood.
His favourite flowers.
He's gone over to the other side of the mystery.
He wanted your husband to learn so many things.
I can reveal them to you, if you like.
Have you thought of his death?
It was the opposite of what had happened in the past.
Today Desgrez died in terrible pain, and Marie d'Aubray is in perfect health.
Just revenge.
What do you want of me?
Why do you hurt me?
Why?
At what time did M. Desgrez pass away?
- As I told the doctor, when I went upstairs... - Please, Mme. Henderson.
My uncle took a snack prescribed by Doctor Baxter at 11p.m.
We'd all gone to a party last night and we got to bed late...
- So it wasn't until this morning... - It must've been between 2 and 3 o'clock.
Yes, I suppose so.
Well.
We will put today's date for the date of death...
and...
I will sign the certificate and burial permit.
Madame, my condolences.
Well, we've settled up with the doctors, now the estate.
We have an appointment at 3, but first I must see about the arrangements for the funeral.
- We'll meet at the lawyer's. - I'll be there.
- You'll accompany Stephane. - Must I go with him?
Go.
Mme. Henderson, I'm sorry I had to cut you shod, but you were about to tell that story.
But I saw it as clearly as I see you.
My wife was at the ball and never left there.
So your story about phantoms is of no interest to anyone.
- Save it for Christmas Eve. - But, M. Marc...
It's a good advice.
And an order.
Well?
Is he dead?
Died during the night,
and I have the burial permit.
Now you believe what I said?
Only six months and he'll be out of your way.
It's still risky.
But no one knows.
A few grains of arsenic each day,
the poor man's illness gets steadily worse,
one day just a little more...
and it's all over.
There were days when I was desperate.
Have you no confidence in me?
You were so wonderful that evening.
"Mlle. Schneider, your breach of duty is just inexcusable!"
It was a good act, wasn't it?
- Why not? - Not now.
I'm due at the lawyer's office.
You'll come back?
I don't know if I'll be able to.
I have a premonition.
What's troubling you?
Something strange is occurring.
The eggnog with the arsenic, you did put it on the refrigerator?
Of course, in front of everyone.
And you never touched it again?
No, I left at once to meet my friend Elsa,
and I was with her the whole night.
Mme. Henderson maintains that when she came to get the glass, it was gone.
And she claims it wasn't her who took it upstairs.
Then who did?
She saw a woman, Lucie.
She was dressed for the ball.
And she saw Lucie give the old man his drink. And now the strangest thing:
She saw how Lucie walked right through the wall.
She's lying...
or she's insane.
That's not like her, she's no fool.
She couldn't have brought him the glass, but there it was, in his room.
So I broke it and threw the shards away.
Now, are you sure your wife was at the ball?
Yes, with me.
And never went out?
Well, she might have left to check whether the old man was all right.
They really hated each other.
I don't want to talk ill of you wife, but she has neither courage nor audacity...
Mme. Henderson saw it in a dream.
Just the same, if the doctors suspect that arsenic was involved and want an autopsy...
it's Lucie who'll be in trouble.
Darling, why should they suspect anybody now that it's over?
Don't be concerned.
Only one woman loves you enough to do this.
And it isn't Lucie.
It's me.
Life is beautiful.
Don't you feel like singing?
- It's no time for singing. - Think of the jewellery you'll have.
And furs, and 42 pairs of shoes,
and servants, and cars...
Don't you want it?
Yes, of course.
- But at this speed, I'll soon won't need anything. - You're right. Let's slow down.
Slowing down.
Say, why did you lie this morning?
Me?
When Marc enquired if you left the ball.
- Oh, but I didn't. - You did.
What about that telephone call?
That footman didn't know where to start...
To look for Mme. Desgrez in the middle of a masquerade.
Fortunately, I was standing nearby and I pointed out a lady in grey.
And then you disappeared for half an hour.
Does this mean that my brother has a competitor?
It was so hot,
- I stepped out for some air. - Of course.
Well, I don't care what you do, it's your own affair.
Life is beautiful.
SOLICITOR
- The will of a deranged man is not valid. - Our uncle had the right.
- He cut me off at your profit. - He left you a pension.
I'm not asking for charity, I want what's due to me.
- If you'd showed a little affection... - You mean like those two?
Hand him a bucket to be sick in.
- You needn't be so loud. - Don't worry, you'll hear me in court
The testament that provides for such a funeral...
is ample proof that Mathias wasn't rational.
- Do you want to make a row? - I don't care about your reputation.
You'll find out just what it's like to be judged.
Now look, Stephane...
Let him be, he's always been nasty to our uncle.
Augusta, Frederic, you'll be a witness. Who's fault was it?
Stephane's or mine?
Thanks for nothing, uncle.
This man, this mad man left his fortune to Marc.
With a provision that Marc pays for my cigarettes.
And he requests that his remains be laid out in the ballroom.
This madman also requested that we play waltz music...
and danced around his coffin.
You think I'll be able to dance, you sorcerer?
He was mad. With his magic and his phantoms...
And women who walk through walls.
Come now, can you believe in such nonsense?
Or do you believe Marc and his wife held his hand
- while he was writing his will? - That's enough.
- You'll accuse me of poisoning him next. - You're capable of everything, even of that.
Damn you, this is now my house now.
So get out and stay out.
We'll meet again.
He was insane, out of his mind.
And he said unforgivable things about me and Lucie.
So what? It's just words.
And it's not the worst:
Stephane accuses my wife of hastening uncle's death.
And what else?
He believes that ridiculous story.
The vision of Mme. Henderson?
- But how do you know? - She told me about it.
She also told me.
I forbade her to.
Try and stop an old woman from babbling. Anyway,
- no one believes a word. - Except Stephane.
And if the story gets to the police they'll question Lucie and, I don't want that.
Like most husbands, I'm no angel,
but Lucie is my wife,
and there's not a better person in the world. She must not be jeopardised.
He's a frustrated heir, that's all.
To pacify him be sure to remind him that by inheriting the fortune and everything else
you also inherit the malediction.
What?
You are now the head of the Desgrez family.
I hope you're not superstitious.
You never know when Doctor is joking.
Never.
Always.
Think of Mathias's father.
He died caught by a jigsaw.
His grandfather...
He vanished in the swamps.
If we keep going back in time we'll see
that all of the Desgrez died a violent death.
Mathias Desgrez died at 75.
But at the sight of Marie d'Aubray
he suddenly passed out.
Let me tell you, doctor, that you've been quite tactless.
I just found the coincidence amusing.
My wife doesn't walk through walls.
Obviously.
But here's an historical quote by La Voisin
at the burning court
You know La Voisin,
a sorceress,
a friend of the Marquise...
Read it.
"Asked about this phenomenon, La Voisin answered...
I was able to walk through any wall or locked door,
I only had to put a substance on my body to make it happen...
Ladies, gentlemen, if you please...
Won't you dance?
Here, Mathias Desgrez was happy and danced.
He wanted to leave his house to the sound of the Waltzes of his youth.
So dance! Who knows, he might be watching.
In your sorrow, Madame, I wish to offer my sympathy.
You're very kind.
I'm very much surprised.
M. Desgrez was getting better.
His last attack was more violent.
A bit too violent.
Allow me to speak
as a friend.
If I had the honour of belonging to the family...
What would you do?
I'd wonder why after so many inexplicable fits of vomiting,
one beaten egg could prove so fatal to your uncle.
But you're implying...
If you wish to look at him for the last time.
- We must talk. - What, now?
Yes, it can't wait, come on.
- Find a way to stop the funeral, or I'm crying bloody murder. - What?
The glass you broke, the one you broke accidentally,
- I picked up the pieces from the rubbish bin. Please be quiet.
It contained arsenic. I want an inquest and an autopsy.
- Alright, we'll get straight to it but don't shout. - We have to tell the police.
- First we have to make sure. - I've got the analysis.
Yes, but we must avoid a scandal. It's been bad enough as it is.
- Look, people are wondering. - I've got you now and I won't let you go.
Then spoke the Lord:
"Live in equity and observe justice.
For the hour of my coming is near,
when my own justice will be revealed to you...
We are gathered here to say one last farewell to Mathias Desgrez.
Heir to a long line of ancestors who met a tragic violent death.
Victims, as it were, of a strange malediction.
Mathias Desgrez had withdrawn long ago from the society of man.
It may be that he too feared
the mysterious hand which struck so implacably in the shadows.
Today death has taken him,
but the infernal chain that sinks into the past,
seems to have been broken.
May Mathias Desgrez,
wherever he is now, find rest
and eternal peace.
On that bit of glass you found there were traces of arsenic.
Traces...
not conclusive.
I'm afraid uncle Mathias wouldn't agree.
Only an autopsy would confirm the cause of death.
And I insist on it.
In a body of a man who has been given medicine for so long,
what can they find?
Every expert will have a different opinion.
Lucie will be questioned because Augusta had hallucinations.
An obstinate policeman can always get incredible confessions.
Is that what you want?
You know she was with us at the ball.
I left the ball for half an hour.
- But you said... - Yes, I lied.
You came back here?
- You took the glass upstairs?
I got a telephone call from someone I didn't know.
- At our friends', during a ball? - That's the way it was.
I've been told that you had a mistress.
And that I'd find the proof if I went out to the garden.
I spent the whole night at the same bridge table.
A woman in love with her husband always gets panicky.
I looked all through the garden.
A few minutes later Mme. Henderson saw you on the stairs.
But I didn't come back here.
Your domestic problems can wait. First - the autopsy.
Then you can let the police do their job.
But the autopsy first.
Things are worse for you than I thought.
Alright, let's do an autopsy.
But before calling the police let us be quite sure uncle died of your arsenic.
My arsenic? Yours I'd say.
Doctor Hermann can perform the autopsy.
If poison is found I promise I'll call the police.
It's illegal, Doctor Hermann won't accept.
He won't care about the law, leave it to me.
He'll do it, and before witnesses too.
Michel Boissand, Henderson.
Doctor was the best friend of Mathias.
It's up to him to decide.
Let's go.
I hear footsteps.
I hear footsteps, I tell you.
It's just your imagination. You're hearing nothing.
Put it down there.
There's someone there.
I saw Mathias Desgrez...
over at the willows.
He walked out of the mist.
Well, recovered from the shock?
More or less, but my wife's had a terrible night.
Things like that seem to affect her abnormally.
- When you suffer from nerves... - I wanted to call a doctor,
- but she wants to see you. - I no longer practice.
If I told anyone else what'd happened during the past three days,
- they'd think I was stupid. - I'll say.
Alright, I'll go wash my hands.
I'm sure she wouldn't be troubled if she could get some sleep.
Sleep?
No, she should be woken up,
like someone in a nightmare.
You pinch them hard and it's finished.
Tell me, what's new?
- Marc is about to call the police. - What?
He had an urgent business call.
He left his wife here and she's in a terrible state.
- And Stephane? - He's been away since last night.
So has the corpse?
It's incredible to me.
- Just what are you going to do? - Me?
Well, each of us is a witness. Silence turns us into accomplices.
If Marc's telling the police...
That's right.
After all, my wife and I have nothing to do with this affair.
Well, you haven't.
And it's not your wife's fault
if the departed Mathias Desgrez follows her about at night.
You say your wife isn't well this morning?
Ever since the night the old man died, and I slept so soundly,
Marie's actions have been most peculiar.
- Wouldn't you be concerned if you were me? - Is it you or your wife who needs my services?
- Who killed M. Desgrez? - Was he killed? I've no idea.
The rope found in the coffin would make one suspect black magic.
It's a means of conjuration used in sorcery.
- Ever hear of the "undead"? - What?
"Undead", those who never find peace.
Not even in the grave or in the tomb.
They're expiating an unpardonable crime.
Believe me, everything pertaining to death
- is and will be quite arcane. - But Marie, what about her?
Can't you talk to her and find out what has been bothering her ever since our arrival?
- I don't know what to do. - You? Take two aspirins with some water.
No, I'm the cook.
M. Desgrez is at his office, Monsieur.
It's for you.
But then who should I...
- It is a friend.
Would you please leave me alone?
If this person calls again say that I'm not here, I'm sick, I'm dead.
I'm not in.
- Monsieur, you should come home... - Hello, Marc, is that you?
Why did you leave me here? Marc, I'm so afraid.
You know that the case I'm pleading tomorrow is important.
No, there's nothing important. I don't want to stay here.
It's sinister here and gloomy. I'm afraid I'm going insane.
I'm calling the authorities, the police should handle it.
- What else am I to do? - No, don't tell them anything.
- I'll be suspected if you do. - Nobody could ever believe you're guilty of it.
No, don't do anything, Leave things as they are...
Just come back to me.
Keep calm, I'll be there tomorrow, have patience.
I promise you, we'll go away somewhere, just the two of us.
- Anywhere you want. - All right.
I'll try.
Please telephone me,
I need to hear your voice.
- Don't hang up. - Promise you'll try and be reasonable.
Good bye, I kiss you tenderly.
"We'll go away, just the two of us". "I kiss you tenderly". So touching.
- You're suddenly aware that Lucie exists? - No, I knew it.
Is it possible that Mathias isn't really dead?
I'm afraid that's hardly likely.
Then who dug him up?
Someone who's interested in making the autopsy impossible.
That means you or me.
Or someone else, the person he saw in his room.
If I don't inform the police, Stephane will do it.
Your brother won't make a move.
He doesn't want an investigation.
He just want an arrangement with you. He's involved in it too.
You wanted the old man dead, he may have had the same thought.
We may have started the poisoning and someone else could've finished it.
It couldn't be Stephane, she saw a woman.
Mme. Henderson saw a costume.
Why did Stefan decide to dress as a woman?
And that telephone call at the ball is strange...
He was just standing by the telephone?
No, a companion must've helped him out.
Stephane detests you and he tried to implicate your wife.
Look at it any way you want, one of them is guilty. Either your brother or...
Or? Tell me.
I'm neither for nor against your wife, but the more I think of it...
she could no longer bear your uncle, the house, your difficulties.
Your uncle's life hung by a thread, she cut it.
It's impossible. It's incredible.
Couldn't it be something supernatural?
Don't make me laugh.
A mysterious woman walks through walls a body vanishes...
And what of this Marie d'Aubray?
And a doctor who dabbles in sorcery.
Oh no, it's much simpler than that.
Although we were the ones that started it, she, your wife...
followed it through.
- M. Desgrez? - That's me.
Jacob Kramer, the diamond merchant.
- So, what do you want? - To have a little chat.
- About legal matters? - No, it's personal.
- I'm pressed for time. - So am I.
I'm a buyer and seller of jewels, at the moment I want money.
But I'm not a banker.
You're the husband of Lucie Desgrez.
Your wife bought a few choice pieces...
and to a woman about to inherit a fortune one gives credit.
- I didn't know. - Women have their little secrets.
But I need money and I want it quick.
My uncle just passed away.
My condolences.
Mme. Desgrez wasn't at home when I telephoned, so I took the liberty...
I'll telephone you tomorrow, Monsieur.
How long have you been asking my wife for the payment?
In a more insistent manner, for a month.
I couldn't know your uncle would...
See you tomorrow, Monsieur.
- You think I'm so strange? - Adorable, but too imaginative.
For you haunted houses and cursed people are too much.
Go away, forget about your stay in this house.
Other doctors told me to try and forget my childhood...
- as if it were possible. - You had a strange childhood?
My mother was a renowned medium, she worked with medical men.
I saw so many strange things...
- Things I shouldn't have seen. - What things?
Things I should forget.
It began with table rapping and calling up the dead?
How old were you?
- 10...13...15. - Go on.
My grandmother...
A Marie d'Aubray, too...
She was mad.
And cruel as well.
- She used to beat me till I bled. - Then what happened?
It was awful...
- She would tell me horrible words. - Do you remember them?
She was 86 years old,
when one day,
she vanished.
Sometimes...
my mother would show me to a basement full of half-naked people.
- Some of them were shouting and rolling on the ground. - Possessed.
Have you attended black masses?
- A few. - Tell me about them.
It hurts so.
I would've gone crazy too if I'd not met Michel.
Michel is so strong, so well balanced.
Have you told him this?
No, he knows nothing.
I feel too ashamed.
With me you can talk about everything... Tell me.
I'm certain you've been visited, chosen.
Who's there?
Monsieur... M. Mathias... I saw him.
Well, good news at last, I guess they found him.
But he's not dead, he's seated.
You're fooling me, M. Henderson. At your age one should be more serious.
But you must believe me, he was seated, in the chapel.
Well, this is reassuring.
- M. Desgrez finally realises his right place. - Stop it.
I'm sorry... It's a good opportunity to pull ourselves together.
- Let's go.
I guarantee you M. Henderson is playing tricks, let's put a stop to it.
- Marie, you come with us? - I'm not afraid.
Michel is right, come with us, Madame.
- What if he's there? - The dead are much kinder than the living.
They've never hurt anybody.
Come.
You see, there's a light on.
- So where is he? - He was seated right there.
- Of course. - Look there.
A knotted rope.
I came for my things, Frieda.
- I left some things in my room. - Please, go ahead.
Madame seems fatigued. Grief is such a strong emotion.
You should be more careful.
About what?
Madame needs much more rest.
- It's for your own welfare.
Did you receive a message?
- No. - We all got telegrams telling us to be here at 10.
The telegram isn't signed.
- Is that bad? - It's very strange.
- I asked you not to come here, it's embarrassing. - Who for?
Your wife's poorly, and that's a professional opinion.
You must leave right away.
- Tell me you love me, please.
I love you more than that.
Ladies and gentlemen, I've been summoned here.
- By whom? - No signature, must've been uncle Mathias.
He was seen at the cigar store and at the post office.
- Introduce yourself, Monsieur. - Inspector Krauss, The Federal Police.
You wanted a scandal at the inquest, now we have it.
- I have nothing to do with this, I never called the police. - Then who?
I did.
M. Inspector, I was the nurse of Mathias Desgrez...
It so happens I was not in the house when he died.
Yes, I know that. You had an engagement that night with a friend to go to the cinema.
It seems the death of M. Desgrez had suspicious aspects.
Everybody knew they should call the police, but...
nobody made the move...
so I made it my affair.
- That means, M. Inspector... - No, not at all, I don't know what this is about.
Except you're in trouble since your uncle got you off without a say.
Will you listen to me, I want to tell you what I saw.
Your story of a woman walking through a wall? Yes, I've heard about it.
And who was the lady that left the ball after the telephone call?
It was me.
- And you are the historian? - Michel Boissard.
- My wife. - Marie d'Aubray.
I'm the maid, M. Inspector, it was my night off.
Frieda Schiller, you went to the Marine Ball where you met...
- A corporal, M. Inspector. - You danced with him till midnight and after that...
After midnight, Monsieur, is my own business.
Aside from all this is there anything serious you wish to tell me?
- M. Inspector, could I have a word with you aside? - Yes, of course.
- The coroner did not find anything. - He's my friend and a capable doctor.
The mystery lies in just one detail, inexplicable and fantastic.
The disappearance of the cadaver.
- Oh, you knew? - Police inspectors do not spend all their time playing cards.
- My uncle and his friend Dr Hermann... - Quite a character, but very cultured.
Yes... Both were engaged in... particular studies,
and with this mysterious disappearance one can't help but think of something supernatural.
Yes, like in all those stories about witchcraft.
I know the Black Forest and its legends and can rule out such hypothesis.
This wall that one can pass through so easily, where is it located?
- Up a flight. - Shall we?
- M. Inspector, may I say?
You're well informed about these strange goings-on...
Yes, strange is the word.
Where did you hear all this?
There's no reason to add another mystery to the mystery that's apparent.
- Tell me, when did your uncle pass on? - Early Saturday morning.
And that Saturday during the afternoon?
- The reading of the will. - At 3 o'clock?
At 4, I was having a cup of tea, most delicious on a hot day,
when a telephone call
informed me about the strange goings-on in the house of the late Mathias Desgrez.
The anonymous caller told me to have a look.
What would you do, if you were in my place?
That's exactly what I did.
I watched the house here,
I investigated carefully the comings and goings of people.
I even witnessed, I should say from a distance, the opening of the coffin.
Rather illegal that, M. Marc, rather illegal.
- I just did it to... - To spare us the trouble, I understand.
- But the telephone call? - It wasn't you?
Of course not, this testament is a gift from heaven, isn't it?
While for your brother...
Now, let's see that wall.
- If you're going up I want to come with you. - You're quite welcome.
This excitement is too much for my wife.
Since we are involved here only by accident...
can we go?
- Right away? - Look at her.
Yes, she is a bit pale.
I grant you were here by accident but permission to leave is impossible.
I cannot authorise anyone to leave the premises.
Now, let's see that wall.
Solid stone.
In modern houses anybody can walk through a wall. They're made of cardboard.
These are a full 20 inches thick...
The garden is far below...
It sounds hollow.
Do you hear it?
Will you move this aside?
It's not a door, it's a closet.
- Did you know about it?
Children and old people enjoy having
secret hiding places to keep their treasures.
Old books...
Magic... Sorcery...
A rare book for lustful gentlemen.
The skull of the Marquise de Brinvilliers.
What curious thoughts passed through this head.
A casket belonging to the Marquise de Brinvilliers.
Oh, what a smell.
All this was obviously collected by your ancestor.
- The cop? - The policeman.
Here's another treatise on magic, as you can see.
Yes, yes, yes, I know, you told me already.
When you get rid of all this set a torch to it
or it'll contaminate the rubbish.
Do you wish to see the crypt?
A whole line of coffins? No, I'm in a hurry. Other investigations.
Murder is flourishing, life is so expensive nowadays.
Ah, everybody's still here.
I do not eliminate any possibility...
but a true policeman always takes somebody back with him.
But who?
Let's see, eeny meeny miney Mo, pick and pick and you will know.
Madame.
You have no proof, you have no right to arrest my wife.
I'm not arresting anyone, I'm questioning a witness.
However our talk might last a while,
so take some toiletries along.
I'm a lawyer, I protest your abuse.
Maitre, I know very well what I'm doing. Very well.
I give you five minutes. The others are requested to stay here.
- May I help my wife? - Of course, I'm not pitiless.
M. Inspector, I'm enrolled at St Joseph's hospital where they expect me shortly.
You may return to your patients.
I should like to say that Madame is quite incapable...
Are you enrolled at the hospital or in the police force?
You may go.
I may have wished for his death...
It's true I wanted to be rich...
But I wouldn't kill the old man.
I've met Jacob Kramer.
He gave me his word.
Why did you do it?
Money was always so scarce.
But looking at jewellery wouldn't cost anything.
I would stop and look when I passed there.
He asked me in one day.
He showed me some things.
Then offered them on credit.
And all at once Kramer wanted the money?
He's been hounding me for weeks now.
Do you realise that all appearances are against you?
Listen, to prepare a good defence I must be sure.
- If it was you who did it, tell me. - It wasn't me.
- But what about the glass on the refrigerator? - I swear it wasn't me.
- You weren't the woman seen with uncle Mathias? - It couldn't have been me.
Alright, then admit nothing.
I'll find a way.
Trust me.
You'll get free.
I'll save you, my darling.
I'll save you.
- No news of Lucie? - She didn't come home last night.
So, the conclusion is near.
This morning inspector asked for M. Boissard.
- Who? - You know, the historian.
I'd rather question his wife.
But it's only me...
- The park is full of bluebottles. - Of what?
Police. They turned up this morning.
There was a whole van of them with dogs.
I wish I could see my dear brother's face.
They think the uncle must be buried somewhere near.
It wasn't you, by any chance?
The little pastries we had for dinner... it wasn't him?
- How horrible. - I'll tell you the truth.
I threw him in the pond with a rock tied to his neck,
- this bastard who disinherited me.
You're rejecting me because I'm a petty bourgeois...
but what about a murderer, aren't you turned on?
- Well, where did you put it? - What?
The corpse of uncle Mathias.
- Imbecile. - I understand the whole thing.
Who was it that had a reason for not wanting the autopsy?
You did, and so you had to hide uncle.
One: You wanted people to think it was sorcery.
And when you replaced the corpse then you had to get Henderson there.
You plant some knotted cord...
That's two, am I right?
Leave me alone.
Tell me, where have you hidden my uncle?
Another word and you'll get my fist.
And how long are you going to let your wife fight it out alone with the police?
When you're both in it together.
Stuff your sorcery, it makes me a laugh.
And you know what you can do with your black magic?
You lousy creep, would you like to know how Lucie can walk through walls?
Would you like me to show you how she did it?
Come on.
Look, look, like Mme. Henderson did.
And see how I'm going to walk through the wall.
It's clear now.
Uncle was hiding his precious relics and erotic books in the closet back there.
In order to get to them he had to push this mirror aside as he did that evening.
There goes your sorcery right up in smoke.
You and Lucie are unmasked.
I'll say it once more, Lucie was not the woman with Mathias.
Then who? Uncle always locked himself in his room.
At 11 at night he would only open to someone he knew.
It can only be Lucie, Marie, Mme. Henderson or the nurse.
Myra left our employment, she was going out with a friend.
- That's what she said. - And what possible reason could she have had for doing it?
Wait.
The telephone call at the ball.
A call that sewed no purpose...
except to make Lucie leave the ball.
- Ah, you're Myra's companion. - Yes, I'm Elsa Braun.
Were you with Myra the night M. Desgrez passed on?
- Of course, we went to the cinema. - You're absolutely sure?
The inspector already asked me that.
Myra was with you all evening?
The inspector asked me that question as well.
Forgive me if I insist, it concerns a woman's life.
For the last time I'll inform you, we were together all night.
- Don't get angry, what else do you know? - What else?
There is nothing else, I made a statement, I signed it.
If you don't believe me, go ask the police.
- This machine, is it yours?
- And Myra borrowed it?
I'm 28 years old, I live in the room above and I'm a midwife.
Just push the door, it's unlocked.
Go away.
Please, help me, you alone can cure me.
There's nothing I can do, go away.
When I was but a mere child I saw them writhing,
rolling on the floor...
and they were delivered. Please, deliver me.
Take a swim in the pond, the ice cold water will do you good.
- Please, you must save me. - Take your ravings elsewhere.
I'm an old man taking refuge in a corner, all I want is some peace.
I want peace too.
There are prayers for love, death,
revenge and peace.
I've forgotten them.
Then I shall go to the lake.
I'll walk far out... and then...
Be relieved of your mission.
Be delivered, you and your descendants, in the coming centuries.
Be delivered.
Why did you borrow that machine from Elsa Braun?
You alone knew the gown Lucie was to wear, you made a copy.
Then you telephoned her at the ball to lure her out...
That way there would be no alibi.
At eleven sharp you returned...
so Mme. Henderson would glimpse Lucie's dress on the stairs.
Your plan was ingenious...
To throw suspicion on my wife...
I borrowed the machine to sew, to fix a curtain.
And wouldn't it be stupid to telephone right in the middle of a costume ball?
And besides, how could I possibly be with Mathias...
when I was with Elsa Braun at the cinema?
You're lying.
You wanted to accuse Lucie,
and to be certain...
you called in the police, am I right?
You're right, I hate your wife.
Your wife was a threat to our love,
that's why I telephoned the police.
Can't you see?
A strange love.
You didn't mind when I loved you enough to commit a murder.
You've miscalculated.
Instead of separating Lucie and me,
you've drawn us together.
Listen.
You'll get the money that I promised.
And then we'll pan ways.
- Our affair is over. - No, Marc, it's too late.
The death of old Mathias has bound us together.
You'll get a divorce.
I'll never leave Lucie.
I'm not going to be abandoned, Marc.
I'll give you double the amount.
You don't understand.
5 years I've loved you, 5 years you've lied.
You were going to marry.
I accepted your marrying her.
You said you'd divorce her,
I was willing to meet you in secret.
I had poisoned Mathias for you...
and I'm to step out of the picture so you can enjoy it with her?
Marc, you're blind to what I'm capable of.
I won't divorce her, Myra.
Then life for me is over.
I shall take my story to the police.
I'll tell them what we've done.
And the fault is all yours.
They'll arrest us.
They will punish us.
And me, let them do what they want.
Life without you is worth nothing.
But you will pay, at least.
Some early morning you'll pay.
- M. Desgrez would like a word.
M. Marc, for a moment I thought...
I'm happy to see you. Your wife has been released.
Yes, because no charge could reasonably be held against her.
But tell me,
what have you done with your uncle's cadaver?
Several things pointed to my wife,
I was anxious to spare her.
The ravings of Mme. Henderson
inspired my use of sorcery.
I lifted Mathias out of the coffin.
So terrible.
One night I put him in the chapel.
And then?
The same night,
I dumped the body into the river, in a car.
A few hundred yards away from the bridge.
A noble sentiment, M. Marc,
but improper procedure, I'm afraid.
After all, what was there to fear?
Dr. Baxter certified
that Mathias's death came naturally.
My uncle was poisoned by Myra Schneider, she admitted it.
She's my mistress,
I just killed her.
Are you quite sure...
absolutely certain...
that she was guilty?