Diabolically Yours [Diaboliquement Vôtre] ** (1967, Alain Delon, Senta Berger, Peter Mosbacher, Sergio Fantoni) – Classic Movie Review 9307

Senta Berger co-stars with Alain Delon in the intriguing but only moderately successful 1967 dubbed French noir psychological thriller Diabolically Yours [Diaboliquement Vôtre], which turned out to be director Julien Duvivier’s last film.

The screenplay by Julien Duvivier, Roland Girard and Jean Bolvary (adaptation) is based on a book by Louis C Thomas about a woman, Christiane (Berger), who bumps off her rich husband, and uses a fortuitous amnesiac who just happens to be passing by as a substitute to get her hands on the money.

The man wakes up from a three-week coma after a car accident and cannot remember anything, including the woman, Christiane (Berger), who claims to be his wife. He is brought to recover in a palatial estate, where there is a doctor (Sergio Fantoni) and a mysterious servant (Peter Mosbacher).

In a puzzle that doesn’t seem to add up, the wealthy businessman amnesiac apparently named Georges Campo (Delon) gradually becomes aware the woman is not really his wife and he is not who he seems either.

It is a shame that the film doesn’t quite satisfy, thanks to plotting and pacing problems, as well as dialogue and credibility issues. But it is a fascinating set-up, Delon and Berger are well cast and up for it, and Henri Decaë’s Eastmancolor cinematography shines.

Also in the cast are Sergio Fantoni, Peter Mosbacher, Claude Piéplu, Albert Augier, Renate Birgo and Georges Montant.

Duvivier had just completed production on Diaboliquement Vôtre when he was killed in a car accident on October 30, 1967 in Paris at the age of 71. The car he was driving was in collision with one carrying Maurice Schumann, French President Charles De Gaulle’s Minister of Scientific Research. Duvivier is the most neglected of the famous five classic French cinema directors (along with Jean Renoir, René Clair, Jacques Feyder and Marcel Carné).

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9307

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