Good Lord Without Confession

Good Lord Without Confession (French: Le Bon Dieu sans confession) is a 1953 French drama film directed by Claude Autant-Lara and starring Danielle Darrieux, Henri Vilbert and Claude Laydu.^{[1] [2]} It was shot at the Francoeur Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Max Douy. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 1953 and went on general release in France the following month. Henri Vilbert won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance.

Good Lord Without Confession
Directed by	Claude Autant-Lara
Written by	Claude Autant-Lara Roland Laudenbach Ghislaine Autant-Lara
Based on	Monsieur Dupont est mort by Paul Vialar
Produced by	Joseph Bercholz
Starring	Danielle Darrieux Henri Vilbert Claude Laydu
Cinematography	André Bac
Edited by	Madeleine Gug
Music by	René Cloërec
Production company	Les Films Gibé
Distributed by	Pathé Consortium Cinéma
Release date	4 September 1953 (1953-09-04)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

Synopsis

At the funeral of François Dupont, his various associates walk in the procession including his wife, children, business partner and mistress Janine. The various characters recall their experiences with the deceased. In flashback we see Janine's relationship with Dupont, and how she had manipulated and exploited him through the turbulent years of the Occupation and Liberation. Ultimately her machinations fail and she loses the man she really loves, her husband Maurice.

Cast

• Danielle Darrieux as Janine Fréjoul
• Henri Vilbert as François Dupont
• Claude Laydu as Roland Dupont
• Ivan Desny as Maurice Fréjoul
• Grégoire Aslan as Varesco
• Myno Burney as Marie Dupont
• Isabelle Pia as Denise Dupont
• Jean Dunot as Marfoisse
• Julien Carette as Eugène
• Claude Berri as Le fils d'Eugène
• Georges Bever as Albert, le domestique
• Jo Dest as Weber
• Michel Dumur as Roland enfant
• Marie-Chantal Fefert as Denise enfant
• Marcelle Féry as La concierge
• René Lacourt as Le bistrotier
• Michel Le Royer as Thierry, le petit ami de Denise
• Madeleine Suffel as La marchande des quatre saisons

References

1. Biggs p.46
2. Walker-Morrison p.223

Bibliography

• Biggs, Melissa E. French films, 1945-1993: a critical filmography of the 400 most important releases. McFarland & Company, 1996.
• Walker-Morrison, Deborah. Classic French Noir: Gender and the Cinema of Fatal Desire. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.

External links

• Good Lord Without Confession at IMDb