The Crucible

Original title: Les sorcières de Salem

1957
2h 25m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Salem 1692. The young Abigail, seduced and abandoned by John Proctor, accuses John's wife of being a witch in revenge. It will be the beginning of a series of witchcraft trials and a dark mo... Read allSalem 1692. The young Abigail, seduced and abandoned by John Proctor, accuses John's wife of being a witch in revenge. It will be the beginning of a series of witchcraft trials and a dark moment in American history.Salem 1692. The young Abigail, seduced and abandoned by John Proctor, accuses John's wife of being a witch in revenge. It will be the beginning of a series of witchcraft trials and a dark moment in American history.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

812

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 3 wins & 2 nominations total

Trivia
The film was almost impossible to find for nearly sixty years due to Arthur Miller blocking the film from being screened or released in any way. This was, according to different accounts, either so that the film didn't steal the spotlight from an English-language adaptation of his play he was working on, and which eventually came out as The Crucible (1996), or as an act of revenge on star Yves Montand, who had an affair with his wife Marilyn Monroe. Actress Mylène Demongeot begged Miller on several occasions to allow the film to be shown again, both before and after the newer adaptation came out and bombed at the box office, but in vain. French company Pathé finally acquired the rights and restored the film in 2016 and released it on Blu-ray and DVD on March 29th 2017, twelve years after Miller's death.

Connections
Featured in Mémoires pour Simone (1986)

User reviews6

Review

Featured review

9/10

Unjustly unknown

This great movie does not receive the recognition it deserves and unfortunately, does not yet have a dvd version in order to reach a greater audience. The performances by both Yves Montand and Simone Signoret are memorable and Sartre's screenplay adds a tone which is darker and deprived of hope to Arthur Miller's play. It explores the theme very well and I'd certainly have it my collection with Dreyer's "Day of Wrath", another masterpiece.