A French village doctor becomes the target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion.A French village doctor becomes the target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion.A French village doctor becomes the target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion.
Antoine Balpêtré
- Le docteur Delorme
- (as Antoine Balpétré)
Marcel Delaître
- Le dominicain
- (as Marcel Delaitre)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the real story, the letters were signed "The Eye of the Tiger" and not "The Raven". The director chose the latter signature after the description of the accused made by a journalist during the 1922 trial: "She looks like a small bird who folded its wings." Interestingly after this movie the word "raven" stayed in the French language ("corbeau") to designate someone who sends anonymous letters. It is a very rare example of a movie expression influencing language.
- Quotes
Le docteur Rémy Germain: [examining Denise in his office] Now breathe.
[puts his head against her chest and listens for a few seconds]
Le docteur Rémy Germain: Breathe normally.
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA srl, "L'ULTIMO DEI SEI (1941) + LE CORBEAU (Il corvo, 1943)" (2 Films on a single DVD), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Featured review
Thunderbolt .
It's a legend!and a black one!The most famous scandal of French cinema during the occupation,le corbeau (the raven) has not lost its feathers even today. The facts:it was produced by the German firm "continental" where Clouzot used to work as a scripter "en chef".But people went as far as saying that the movie was shown in German movie theaters under the disagreeable title "a small town like so many other ones in France" .Balderdash!The movie was never released in Germany at the time. As Roger Boussinot wrote in "l'encyclopédie du cinéma"(1980),"the bourgeoisie ,be it French or German was all the same everywhere,and Hitler,whose fortunes were on the wane ,had to treat his own (bourgeoisie) gently.Actually,the film ran into difficulties after the Liberation.It was the ideal scapegoat,and along with so many others ,like Sacha Guitry,Arletty(the female star of "les enfants du paradis"),Ginette Leclerc (the female star of "le corbeau")and other "collaborators" (sic),Clouzot was blacklisted.
Why so much acrimony against "le corbeau"?Because it depicted life in French provinces in a way that was far from being idyllic.Anonymous letters are sent by the "raven",and drags the town through the mud.At first sight ,it seems like a simple whodunit:Clouzot 's first effort (l'assassin habite au 21) was a thriller.But there's more to the picture than meets the eye:what was latent in the first movie,we see it in its true colors:Clouzot's contempt for the whole human race,which will increase over the years.No character in "le corbeau " to identify with:the prototype of the film noir.Where is good?Where is bad?The most famous scene remains that of the light sway :the world is not black and white,what you thought black might be white and vice versa .
"Le Corbeau' was released at the wrong time.It was too different from the "Occupation" movies which dealt with "escape" "dream" as works as Carné's "les visiteurs du soir" or Jean Delannoy/Jean Cocteau's "l'éternel retour" testify.It was 1947 before HG Clouzot was allowed to direct again.Four years has passed,and he came back to Belgian writer Steeman (whose "le dernier des six" and "l'assassin habite au 21" he had already adapted),but his venom and his misanthropy hadn't dried up,and more masterpieces were to follow.
Otto Preminger directed a remake "the 13th letter" in 1951 which I haven't seen.On the other hand ,there was a French "modern "update by Yves Boisset (Radio Corbeau,1989)which is watchable but which can't be compared to Clouzot's thunderbolt back in 1943.
Why so much acrimony against "le corbeau"?Because it depicted life in French provinces in a way that was far from being idyllic.Anonymous letters are sent by the "raven",and drags the town through the mud.At first sight ,it seems like a simple whodunit:Clouzot 's first effort (l'assassin habite au 21) was a thriller.But there's more to the picture than meets the eye:what was latent in the first movie,we see it in its true colors:Clouzot's contempt for the whole human race,which will increase over the years.No character in "le corbeau " to identify with:the prototype of the film noir.Where is good?Where is bad?The most famous scene remains that of the light sway :the world is not black and white,what you thought black might be white and vice versa .
"Le Corbeau' was released at the wrong time.It was too different from the "Occupation" movies which dealt with "escape" "dream" as works as Carné's "les visiteurs du soir" or Jean Delannoy/Jean Cocteau's "l'éternel retour" testify.It was 1947 before HG Clouzot was allowed to direct again.Four years has passed,and he came back to Belgian writer Steeman (whose "le dernier des six" and "l'assassin habite au 21" he had already adapted),but his venom and his misanthropy hadn't dried up,and more masterpieces were to follow.
Otto Preminger directed a remake "the 13th letter" in 1951 which I haven't seen.On the other hand ,there was a French "modern "update by Yves Boisset (Radio Corbeau,1989)which is watchable but which can't be compared to Clouzot's thunderbolt back in 1943.
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- dbdumonteil
- Dec 8, 2001
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $36,089
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,452
- Apr 22, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $36,089
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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