Synopsis:
During World War I, a crook (Charles Denner) supports his wife (Françoise Lugagne) and four kids by secretly wooing and then killing lonely women with money, keeping a mistress (Stéphane Audran) as well on the side.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Claude Chabrol Films
• French Films
• Mistaken and Hidden Identities
• Serial Killers

Review:
Claude Chabrol directed and Françoise Sagan scripted this fictionalized biopic of French serial killer Henri Désiré Landru, who was also the inspiration for Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux (1947). Indeed, Chabrol was a huge fan of Chaplin’s work — an interview with him can be found on the Criterion DVD of the latter — and it’s easy to see its influence, given that Denner’s Landru (like Chaplin’s many cinematic iterations) is a clownish (with widely painted eyebrows) yet serious character who moves around the world feeling perfectly justified in his every move:

… and who is able to shift personas with ease while maintaining his work-a-day sensibility.

After all, wooing and killing (then chopping up and burning) women is simply his lot in life (so he sincerely believes).

As in … Verdoux, this is all presented in a darkly comedic fashion, with the running “jokes” including the fact that there’s a shortage of men due to World War I (which is surely the primary reason so many lonely women fall for this balding, intense weirdo), and that Landru must somehow support his large family.

Indeed, it’s surprisingly challenging to hate Landru despite what a despicable sociopath he unquestionably is. Chabrol’s real-life wife (Stéphane Audran) plays Landru’s real-life lover, Fernande Segret:

… and there are other well-known faces among the women Ladru seduces and murders — including Danielle Darrieux as Berthe Héon:

… Juliette Mayniel — Florence in Chabrol’s Les Cousins (1959) — as Anna Collomb:

… and Hildegard Knef as Mme. X.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Charles Denner as Landru
  
• Vibrant cinematography and sets
  

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a one-time look.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Village Voice Review