La vérité sur Bébé Donge

If you're going to get poisoned to death you'd surely rather it was by something hidden in the powder compact of the beautiful Bébé (Danielle Darrieux) than by a meal of bad oysters, but try telling that to craggy victim François Donge (Jean Gabin).

After an initial Turkish Delight-based encounter, Bébé falls for tannery-owner Donge and his rough vernacular charm. He marries her at the behest of his mercenary mother to add a bit of gloss to his brand. Bébé hopes that he will learn to love, to be a couple, but no, he is just an amoral, transaction-minded philanderer.

So here we are ten years later with Donge lying in a private clinic, his life in the balance, visited by a black-clad, emotionally dead Bébé. Around them, a compromised doctor, his staff, the examining magistrate, Donge's brother, all with decisions to make. If he lives, they could just say it was oysters...

And so we wheel between past and present. The marriage goes through the motions. Which is something Donge can't do now so to speak. His condition reaches its crisis. Bébé stares unblinking at the truth.

Two superb performances from Gabin and the luminous Darrieux. Don't skip a minute of it.