The Widow Couderc

The Widow Couderc (French: La veuve Couderc) is a 1971 French drama film based on the 1942 novel of the same name by Georges Simenon.

The Widow Couderc
La veuve Couderc
Directed by	Pierre Granier-Deferre
Written by	Pascal Jardin Pierre Granier-Deferre
Based on	novel by Georges Simenon
Produced by	Raymond Danon
Starring	Simone Signoret Alain Delon
Cinematography	Walter Wottitz
Music by	Philippe Sarde
Production companies	Lira Films (Paris) Pegaso Films (Rome)
Release date	13 October 1971 (1971-10-13)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	France
Language	French
Box office	2,008,203 admissions (France)

Plot

In 1934, in a little village on a canal in Burgundy (Cheuge), a laconic young stranger called Jean is walking along the road when an older woman in black gets off a bus with a heavy load. He helps her carry it to her farm, where she offers him work and a room. He accepts, and soon she is in his bed. She is the widow Couderc, running the farm single-handed with her infirm father-in-law. Across the canal live her sister-in-law and ineffectual husband, who are trying to evict the widow and gain the property. They have a 16-year-old daughter, Félicie, who has already managed to have a baby, father uncertain.

Jean enjoys helping on the farm, but will reveal little of his past. His father was rich, he says, and he wanted to become a doctor but killed a man, ending up in jail from which he has escaped. The widow accepts his story, but her trust is strained when he can't resist sleeping with the alluring Félicie as well. The situation is taken out of her hands when her sister-in-law denounces Jean to the police, who surround the farm at dawn. When Jean fires on them, both he and the widow are killed in the ensuing fusillade.

Cast

• Simone Signoret - Tati Couderc
• Alain Delon - Jean Lavigne
• Ottavia Piccolo - Félicie
• Jean Tissier - Henri Couderc
• Monique Chaumette - Françoise
• Boby Lapointe - Désiré
• Pierre Collet - commissaire Mallet
• François Valorbe - colonel Luc de Mortemont
• Jean-Pierre Castaldi

Reception

The film opened at number one at the box office in Paris with a first week gross of $163,000.

External links

• The Widow Couderc at IMDb
• Review of film at New York Times