Le Corbeau

A veritable masterpiece of French cinema, Henri-Georges Clouzot's Le Corbeau is a dark and subversive study of human nature starring Pierre Fresnay and Ginette Leclerc. A wave of hysteria sweeps the small provincial town of St. Robin when a series of poison-pen letters signed "Le Corbeau" appear, denouncing several prominent members of society. Starting with the village doctor, the slow trickle of sinister letters soon becomes a flood and no one is safe from their mysterious accusations. Condemned by the political left and right and the church upon its release in 1943, Clouzot was banned from filmmaking for two years after making the film. This classic noir is essential viewing from the director often dubbed the "French Hitchcock".