''La Bête Humaine'' (English: ''The Human Beast'' and ''Judas Was a Woman'') is a 1938 French film directed by Jean Renoir, with

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

by Curt Courant. The picture features

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937), '' La grande illusion'' (1937), ''Le Quai des brumes'' ...

and

Simone Simon Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon (23 April 1910 or 1911 – 22 February 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931. Early life Born in Marseille, France, she was the daughter of Henri Louis Firmin Clair Simon, a French J ...

, and is loosely based on the 1890 novel '' La Bête humaine'' by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

. ''La Bête Humaine'' is partially set "on a train that may be thought of as one of the main characters in the film." Although generally listed as a romantic drama, it is sometimes considered a precursor to the film noir genre.

Plot

The film opens with a quote from Zola's novel, one of his " Rougon-Macquart" series, emphasizing a character's fate as tied to the hereditary alcoholism that runs through his family's generations. The film itself, however, represents only a portion of the novel and veers from Zola's overriding theme of naturalistic

fatalism Fatalism is a family of related philosophical doctrines that stress the subjugation of all events or actions to fate or destiny, and is commonly associated with the consequent attitude of resignation in the face of future events which are tho ...

. Lantier is a railway engine driver obsessively tied to his locomotive, in part because his work distracts him from recurring headaches and violent rages that happen when he is with a woman and become worse when he drinks. During a stop for repairs in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, Lantier goes to his aunt's nearby village. He tells her he no longer has the attacks of violence, but then has one when he meets Flore (

Blanchette Brunoy Blanchette Brunoy (5 October 1915 – 3 April 2005) was a French actress. She was born Blanche Bilhaud in Paris as the daughter of a physician, and died in Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence of old age. Career Blanchette Brunoy appeared in over ...

), an attractive young woman he knew as a little girl. The two walk and sit beside the railway, but as they embrace, his hands tighten on her neck, and he is stopped from strangling her only by the distracting roar of a passing train. Knowing of his condition, she forgives him. Roubaud, the deputy stationmaster at Le Havre, is married to Séverine (

), who formerly worked for her wealthy godfather Grandmorin (

Jacques Berlioz Jacques Berlioz (9 December 1891, Paris – 21 December 1975) was a French zoologist and ornithologist, specializing in hummingbirds. He was a grand-nephew of composer Hector Berlioz (1803–1869). Berlioz was born in Paris, where the family h ...

). Roubaud now accuses her of once having had an affair with Grandmorin, and she confirms that he took advantage of her. Roubaud demands that she be present as he takes his revenge. They arrange to be aboard the same train as Grandmorin; Roubaud and Séverine go to his compartment and Roubaud stabs the man to death. However, while in the corridor between compartments, they meet Lantier, who is a passenger on the same train. With Roubaud's encouragement, Séverine asks Lantier not to tell the police what he knows, and the murder is pinned on a habitual criminal, Cabouche (played by the director). Afterwards, Séverine and Roubaud are both haunted by the murder in different ways, and Séverine turns to Lantier for comfort. Meeting in secret during a rainstorm, their passion is suggested by an overflowing rain barrel as they begin an affair. Roubaud has lapsed into depression following the murder; Séverine tells Lantier that her husband will eventually kill her and suggests that Lantier strike first. Lantier is unable to carry out an attack on Roubaud, but when Séverine at her home tells Lantier that she will leave Roubaud, he agrees to try again. Just then, the couple hear a noise and think that Roubaud is approaching. Lantier then has one of his seizures and kills Séverine. Returning to his locomotive for another run to Paris, he confesses to his

fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

Pecqeaux ( Julien Carette), then attacks him, then finally leaps from the moving train to his death. After safely stopping the engine and walking back to Lantier's body, Pecqeaux remarks that Lantier now looks more peaceful than he had for a long time.

Cast

as Jacques Lantier *

as Séverine Roubaud * Fernand Ledoux as Roubaud (as Ledoux Sociétaire de la Comédie Française) *

as Flore *

Gérard Landry Landry Fernand Charles Marrier de Lagatinerie (16 October 1912 – 18 September 1999), known professionally as Gérard Landry, was an Argentinian actor. He began acting in 1932 with his first movie ''Mirages de Paris'', acted for over fifty ...

as Le fils Dauvergne * Jenny Hélia as Philomène Sauvagnat *

Colette Régis Colette Régis (1893–1978) was a French film actress.Hayward p.280 Selected filmography * ''Rasputin'' (1938) - Une religieuse (uncredited) * '' Three Waltzes'' (1938) - Sarah Bernhardt * '' La Bête Humaine'' (1938) - Victoire Pecqueux * ''T ...

as Victoire Pecqueux * Claire Gérard as Une voyageuse * Charlotte Clasis as Tante Phasie, la marraine de Lantier * Jacques Berlioz as Grandmorin * Tony Corteggiani as Dabadie, le chef de section * André Tavernier as Le juge d'instruction Denizet * Marcel Pérès as Un lampiste * Jean Renoir as Cabuche * Julien Carette as Pecqueux

Production

wanted to star in a film about locomotives and wrote a screenplay called ''Train d'Enfer'', that was originally to be directed by

Jean Grémillon Jean Grémillon (; 3 October 1901 – 25 November 1959)Note that, despite attempts at correction, thIMDb entry on the directorlists his date of birth erroneously as 4 March 1898. The correct date is given in his standard biography, by Geneviève S ...

.Durgnat, R., ''Jean Reinoir'' (1974), p. 172. Dissatisfied with the script, Grémillon suggested an adaptation of '' La Bête humaine''. After his success starring in Renoir's ''

Grand Illusion Grand Illusion may refer to: Music * ''Grand Illusion'' (album), by Nocturnal Rites, 2005 *'' The Grand Illusion'', a 1977 album by Styx, and its title song *"Grand Illusion", a song from the 2016 album '' In the Now'' by Barry Gibb *"Grand Illu ...

'' (1937), Gabin preferred to work with Jean Renoir again, and hired him instead of Grémillon. Renoir eventually wrote the script over a period of eight to fifteen days. (Renoir said it took him twelve days in the introduction to the movie). After its completion, Renoir read the screenplay to Gabin's producer Robert Hakim, who asked for "trifling modifications". Renoir confessed that at the time when he wrote the screenplay, he had not read Zola's novel in over 25 years: "While I was shooting, I kept modifying the scenario, bringing it closer to Zola ... the dialogue which I gave

is almost entirely copied from Zola's text. Since I was working at top speed, I'd re-read a few pages of Zola every night, to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything." Filming commenced on August 12, 1938, with exteriors on the Gare Saint-Lazare and at Le Havre. Due to running time restrictions, Renoir had to omit several celebrated occurrences from the novel.Durgnat, R., ''Jean Renoir'' (1974), p. 174.

Reception

Critical response

Frank Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...

, critic for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

,'' gave ''La Bête Humaine'' a positive review even though he felt uncomfortable watching the film, writing:

Accolades

Nominations *

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

: Mussolini Cup, Best Film, Jean Renoir; 1939.

References

External links

* * *
''La Bête Humaine''
at Bright Lights Film Journal
''La Bête Humaine''
information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images)
''La bête humaine: Renoir On and Off the Rails''
an essay by

Geoffrey O'Brien Geoffrey O'Brien (born 1948 New York City, New York) is an American poet, editor, book and film critic, translator, and cultural historian. In 1992, he joined the staff of the Library of America as executive editor, becoming editor-in-chief in 19 ...

at the Criterion Collection * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bete humaine, La 1938 films 1938 crime drama films 1930s French-language films French crime drama films French black-and-white films Films based on works by Émile Zola Films based on French novels Adultery in films Rail transport films Films directed by Jean Renoir Films produced by Robert and Raymond Hakim Films scored by Joseph Kosma 1930s French films