Les abysses
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Nico Papatakis
Francine Bergé
Colette Bergé
Pascale De Boysson
Colette Régis
Paul Bonifas
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Michèle and Marie-Louise, orphaned sisters bound by an unhealthy devotion, are servant girls on the steadily decaying farm of Monsieur Lapeyre, a once-prosperous Bordeaux wine-grower. Dirty and disheveled, the sisters are reduced to virtual slavery, and for 3 years they have worked without pay. Lapeyre and his domineering wife leave for town with their daughter Elisabeth to effect a reconciliation with Elisabeth's estranged husband, Philippe. The girls are left alone, fearful that their masters will find a buyer for the farm and leave them destitute. Terrorized, they alternately quarrel and embrace, and begin to smash and destroy the household in a desperate attempt to prevent the sale. The family returns unexpectedly, and Elisabeth announces her intention to remain at home with Marie-Louise, the object of her affections. Unable to pay the back wages, the Lapeyres endure continual abuse while the destruction continues. Elisabeth, in an act of charity, had promised the sisters ownership of the backyard chicken house, but now she joins her mother in reneging on the offer. The girls grow increasingly hysterical, and when Philippe arrives with a trio of prospective buyers, Elisabeth goes to him, turning her back on the sisters. As the papers are signed, Michèle and Marie-Louise go berserk and barricade themselves in the kitchen. While attempting to reason with them, Madame and Elisabeth are brutally murdered with kitchen utensils, leaving Lapeyre to his conscience.
Director
Nico Papatakis
Cast
Francine Bergé
Colette Bergé
Pascale De Boysson
Colette Régis
Paul Bonifas
Jean-louis Le Goff
Lise Daubigny
Marcel Roche
Robert Benois
Crew
Pierre Barbaud
André Beaumont
Edwige Bernard
Jean-michel Boussaguet
Denise De Casabianca
Paul Chapalain
Roger Dallier
André Dinot
Marie-louise Gillet
Jean-claude Hugon
Pascale Laverrière
Claude Lerouge
Robert Maurice
Nico Papatakis
Konstantin Simonovic
Jean Vauthier
Jean Vauthier
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Paris opening: April 1963; running time: 96 min. Inspired by the French Papin sisters murder case of 1933.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Fall November 23, 1964
Feature directorial debut for Nico Papatakis.
Released in United States Fall November 23, 1964
