The Unfaithful Wife

The Unfaithful Wife (1968)

Genres - Drama, Thriller  |   Sub-Genres - Crime Drama, Post-Noir (Modern Noir), Marriage Drama  |   Release Date - Nov 10, 1969 (USA)  |   Run Time - 94 min.  |   Countries - France, Italy  |   MPAA Rating - R
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Stéphane Audran plays the title character, Hélène Desvallées, the bored wife of insurance executive Charles Desvallées (Michel Bouquet). Charles suspects Hélène of playing the field, so he has a private detective locate his wife's lover, author Victor Pegala (Maurice Ronet). Confronting Victor, Charles tries to adopt an air of indifference, but the conversation ends with the husband bludgeoning the author to death and then calmly disposing of the evidence. When Hélène is questioned about Victor's murder, she discovers on her own that her husband is guilty. Instead of turning him in, Hélène is so thrilled that Charles cares so deeply about her that she is more in love with him than ever before. The Unfaithful Wife was directed by Claude Chabrol, the then real-life husband of leading lady Stéphane Audran.

Characteristics

Keywords

husband, extramarital-affair, jealousy, lover, marital-problems, murder, wife

Attributes

High Artistic Quality, High Historical Importance