The Sleeping Car Murder
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Costa-gavras
Yves Montand
Simone Signoret
Pierre Mondy
Catherine Allégret
Pascale Roberts
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Daniel, a young runaway riding the overnight train from Marseilles to Paris without a ticket, is aided in avoiding the conductor by Bambi, a young woman on her way to a job in Paris. She arranges for him to spend the night in an unoccupied berth in her compartment. He leaves early the next morning but returns when he realizes that he has forgotten his suitcase. He finds Georgette Thomas, a perfume saleswoman who had a lower berth, murdered in the compartment. Inspector Grazzi and his assistant, Jean-Lou, are assigned to the case. Through the newspapers, Grazzi asks the other occupants of the compartment that night to contact the police. Cabourg, an office worker, is the first to come forward, but he is soon found dead. Daniel and Bambi remain together, but they avoid the police because they fear discovery by their parents. Daniel finds the wallet of Eliane Darrès, a fading actress who had been in the compartment, but when he and Bambi return it, they find Eliane being interrogated by Grazzi. They hide and see a young man, Eric, slipping out of Eliane's back door. Eliane tells Grazzi that Daniel had occupied the sixth berth. Shortly thereafter, Eliane is murdered, as is Rivolani, a truckdriver who also had been in the compartment. Eric, who had been Eliane's lover, is questioned but has an alibi. Daniel overhears two men planning to kill Bambi, and after telling her to hide in a hotel room, he calls Grazzi to tell all he knows. The police prevent Eric from killing Bambi, but Eric is only an accomplice; the real murderer, Jean-Lou, is now after Daniel. Jean-Lou knew of Eliane's large bank account and her passion for young men and had plotted with his friend Eric to kill her. Grazzi manages to save Daniel, and, after a wild chase through Paris, Jean-Lou is apprehended.
Director
Costa-gavras
Cast
Yves Montand
Simone Signoret
Pierre Mondy
Catherine Allégret
Pascale Roberts
Jacques Perrin
Michel Piccoli
Jean-louis Trintignant
Charles Denner
Claude Mann
Nadine Alari
Georges Géret
Claude Dauphin
Daniel Gélin
Marcel Bozzufi
Tanya Lopert
Bernadette Lafont
Françoise Arnoul
André Valmy
Maurice Chevit
Jacques Dynam
Jean Lefebvre
Jean-pierre Périer
Christian Marin
Serge Rousseau
Paul Pavel
Albert Michel
Jenny Orléans
Clément Harari
B. Paul
R. Sabatier
J. Steiner
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Opened in Paris in November 1965 as Compartiment tueurs; running time: 95 min.
Miscellaneous Notes
Voted Best Foreign Language Film of the Year by the 1966 National Board of Review.
Released in United States Spring March 7, 1966
Costa-Gavras' directorial debut.
CinemaScope
Released in United States Spring March 7, 1966
