''The Sleeping Car Murders'' (also known as ''The Sleeping Car Murder'', French title: ''Compartiment tueurs'') is a 1965 French

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by

Costa-Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

from the novel by

Sébastien Japrisot Sébastien Japrisot (4 July 1931 – 4 March 2003) was a French author, screenwriter and film director. His pseudonym was an anagram of Jean-Baptiste Rossi, his real name. Renowned for subverting the rules of the crime genre, Japrisot broke down ...

. It stars

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held stron ...

, Simone Signoret,

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

, Catherine Allégret,

Jacques Perrin Jacques Perrin (born Jacques André Simonet; 13 July 1941 – 21 April 2022) was a French actor and film producer. He was occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Early life Jacques André Simonet was born on the Boulevard Port-Royal in P ...

Charles Denner Charles Denner (29 May 1926 – 10 September 1995) was a French actor born to a Jewish family in Tarnów, Poland. During his 30-year career he worked with some of France's greatest directors of the time, including Louis Malle, Claude Chabrol, ...

and

Pascale Roberts Pascale is a common Francophone given name, the feminine of the name Pascal. The same spelling is also an Italian form of the masculine name ''Pascal'', and an Italian surname derived from the given name. Pascale derives from the Latin ''pas ...

. This film was the first movie for Costa-Gavras, to be followed later by other, more politically-oriented work.

Plot

The film begins with a young woman, Bambi ( Catherine Allégret), boarding a train from Avignon to Paris. Also on her compartment are her fellow passengers, René Cabourg (

), Georgette Thomas (

), Rivolani ( Paul Pavel), and famed actress Éliane Darrès (Allégret’s real-life mother Simone Signoret). She also meets Daniel (

), a stowaway en route to Paris. After helping him avoid the ticket inspector, she allows him to sleep in an empty compartment above hers. Upon reaching Paris, realizing he had nowhere to go, she also allowed him to stay in her apartment and they start a relationship. Meanwhile, in the train, Georgette is found dead in her bunk. Police Inspector Grazziani (

) and his assistant Jean-Lou Gabert (

Claude Mann Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...

) is assigned to handle the case. The other passengers are identified and are told to contact the police as possible eyewitnesses. The police also questioned Georgette’s lover, Bob Vaski (

). Cabourg, who was infatuated with Georgette and had been rebuffed by her on the train was the first to contact the police, but before he was able to testify, he was shot and killed by an unknown assailant. The police start questioning the passengers, starting with Darrès, arriving at her apartment at the same time as Bambi and Daniel were about to return her wallet, taken earlier by Daniel. As the police enter the apartment her lover Éric Grandin (

) is seen leaving. From Darrès, the police learn about the altercation between Georgette and Cabourg. She also told them about Daniel, but as the ticket had been registered by another person, they didn’t believe her. Meanwhile Daniel and Bambi discovered a love letter from Grandin to Darrès in her wallet, as they read the letter the narration turns into a flashback and Darrès reminiscing on her relationship. As she was about to leave her apartment, Darrès was killed by the unknown assailant, while at the same time another assailant murders Rivolani. Both murders also occur before the police were able to talk to them. Following Darrès’ murder, the police question Grandin as Daniel also arrives to returns the wallet and letter. They also learn that Darrès had asked her brother for a loan to be used to start a farm in South Africa with Grandin, alerting them that Grandin was in financial trouble and in need of money. Meanwhile the police interview Garaudy, the presumed sixth passenger on the compartment, but they discover that she did not board the train. The assailants came to look for Bambi while only Daniel was present, he narrowly avoided them before warning her about the assailants and telling her to leave her office immediately and hide in a hotel close to her office under his name. He also contacts the police, admitting that he was the sixth passenger and reporting about the assailants. The police discovered that a large sum of money have been withdrawn from Darrès’ account via a check. They found out that the man on the check is dead, arousing suspicion. Meanwhile, Grazziani found out about Daniel being the sixth passenger and him discovering the assailants, while also learning that Jean-Lou posed as him while contacting Daniel and immediately raced off to find him, causing Grazziani to realize that Jean-Lou is one of the assailants. Grazziani then contacts Daniel and discovers Daniel told Jean-Lou about being the sixth passenger, while also divulging his and Bambi’s plan to avoid the assailant. Grazziani then races to save both Daniel and Bambi, as he instructs Daniel by phone on what to do with regards to the assailants, while contacting the district police to protect him and find Bambi. He also proposes that Daniel be used as bait to catch the assailants. Grazziani reached Bambi's hotel and upon finding that the district police couldn't find her organized a check on every room, he eventually manages to find her in one of the rooms, while also finding Grandin hiding in the hotel. Grandin divulges the plan to the police, the train murder was only a red herring intended to mask the real target, Darrès, causing the police to focus on the railroad crime and assuming that her murder was to eliminate witnesses, as they steal her money and run away together. He also told them that he and Jean-Lou forged the name on the check using data from the police records. Meanwhile, Jean-Lou arrives at Daniel’s location, but Daniel manages to escape just as Grazziani arrives. Jean-Lou runs from the scene and a lengthy chase around Paris ensues, with a biker gang aiding the police in following Jean-Lou. The chase ends when Jean-Lou is cornered at a riverside road and he proceeded to shoot himself.

Cast

Inspector Grazziani "Grazzi" *

as Daniel * Catherine Allégret as Benjamine Bombat aka "Bambi" *

Pierre Mondy Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

as Superintendent Tarquin *

as Jean-Lou Gabert *

as Éric Grandin * Simone Signoret as Éliane Darrès *

as Bob Vaski *

as René Cabourg *

as Georgette Thomas *

Jacques Dynam Jacques Dynam (30 December 1923 – 12 November 2004) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1942 and 2004, among which the ''Fantomas'' saga. Selected filmography * ''La symphonie fantastique'' (1942) - (uncre ...

as Inspector Malec *

André Valmy André Valmy (8 October 1919 – 18 November 2015) was a French film actor. He was born André Antoine Marius Dugenet in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1940 and 2001. He is also known in France to ...

as Inspector * Philippe Rouleau as Inspector Antoine *

Maurice Chevit Maurice Chevit (31 October 1923 – 2 July 2012) was a French actor. Maurice Chevit made his theatrical début just after the Second World War, and made his first screen appearance in 1946 in René Clément's film ''Le Père tranquille''. In ...

as Inspector Moutard *

Nadine Alari Nadine Alari (born Bernadette Nicole Frédérique Bovarie; 23 February 1927 – 24 November 2016) was a French film and television actress. Selected filmography * ''Jericho'' (1946) * ''Tuesday's Guest'' (1950) * '' Great Man'' (1951) * '' ...

as Mme Grazziani *

Monique Chaumette Monique Chaumette (born 4 April 1927) is a French actress. She appeared in more than forty films since 1958. She was married to Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career No ...

as Mme Rivolani * Paul Pavel as Rivolani *

Bernadette Lafont Bernadette Lafont (28 October 1938 – 25 July 2013) was a French actress who appeared in more than 120 feature films. She has been considered "the face of French New Wave". In 1999 she told ''The New York Times'' her work was "the motor of my ex ...

as Georgette's sister *

Christian Marin Christian Marin (8 February 1929 – 5 September 2012) was a French film actor. Born in Lyon, he is best known for his role in ''Le gendarme series'' (as "Merlot"), although he did not appear in the last two sequels. In 1967 he appeared in the tel ...

as Georgette's brother-in-law *

Serge Rousseau Serge Rousseau (13 March 1930 – 3 November 2007) was a French film and television actor and agent. He was a close friend of François Truffaut. He played the murdered husband of Jeanne Moreau in '' The Bride Wore Black'' and the unknown man w ...

as train controller *

Jenny Orléans Jenny Orléans (January 19, 1932 – April 12, 2008) was a French actress. Filmography *1953: '' Les Enfants de l'amour'' (by Léonide Moguy) *1957: ''Lovers of Paris'' (by Julien Duvivier) - Rose Compardon (uncredited) *1958: ''Me and the Colo ...

as Cabourg's sister. * Claude Dauphin as Eliane's brother *

Daniel Gélin Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin (19 May 1921 – 29 November 2002) was a French film and television actor. Early life Gélin was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, the son of Yvonne (née Le Méner) and Alfred Ernest Joseph Gélin. When he was ten, ...

as the veterinarian *

Tanya Lopert Tanya Lopert (born 19 June 1942 in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,8 ...

as Mme Garaudy *

Charles Millot Charles Millot (born Veljko Milojević; 23 December 1921 – 6 October 2003) was a Yugoslav-born French actor who made many film appearances over a 35-year period. His notable film appearances include: '' The Train'' (1964), ''The Night of t ...

as medical examiner *

Albert Michel Albert Michel (1909–1981) was a French stage, film and television actor.Paietta p.40 Selected filmography * ''Je chante'' (1938) - Un laitier (uncredited) * ''Ne bougez plus'' (1941) - Clanpinet * ''Chèque au porteur'' (1941) * ''Fièvres'' ( ...

as bartender *

José Artur José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

as journalist * William Sabatier as Superintendent Tuffi *

Josée Steiner Josée is a given name and can refer to: * Josée Auclair (born 1962), Canadian explorer * Josée Beaudin (born 1961), Canadian politician *Josée Chouinard (born 1969), Canadian figure skater * Josée Corbeil (born 1973), retired female volleybal ...

as employee at the hotel Arizona *

André Weber André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variat ...

as drunkard at the police headquarters *

Edmond Ardisson Edmond Ardisson (23 October 1904, in Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. ...

as the telephone voice from Marseille * Jacqueline Staup as Bambi's boss *

Dominique Zardi Dominique Zardi (born Emile Jean Cohen-Zardi; 2 March 1930 – 13 December 2009) was a French actor from Paris. He acted in more than 200 feature films, including '' Fantômas'' with Louis De Funès and Jean Marais. He died of cancer at the age of ...

as Inspector in the café * Maurice Auzel as Inspector in the café * Marcel Bozzuffi as policeman * Georges Geret as policeman * Dominique Bernard as train employee *

Lionel Vitrant __TOC__ Lionel may refer to: Name *Lionel (given name) Places *Lionel, Lewis, a village in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland *Lionel Town, Jamaica, a settlement Brands and enterprises *Lionel, LLC, an American designer and importer of toy trains and mo ...

as inspector *

Nicole Desailly Nicole may refer to: People * Nicole (name) * Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor'' * Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977) * Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Euro ...

: janitor in Eliane's building *

Jean Droze Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

as a man in the Police headquarters *

Claude Berri Claude Berri (; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor. Early life Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), w ...

as a train employee *

Françoise Arnoul Françoise Arnoul (born Françoise Annette Marie Mathilde Gautsch; 3 June 1931 – 20 July 2021) was a French actress, who achieved popularity during the 1950s. Early life Born in Constantine, French Algeria, as the daughter of stage a ...

as nurse in the veterinarian school *

Serge Marquand Serge Marquand was a French actor and film producer (12 March 1930 – 4 September 2004). He died of advanced leukemia. He was the brother of Nadine Trintignant and Christian Marquand. Filmography *1959: '' Les Liaisons dangereuses'' ...

as Georgette's lover * Denise Péron as drunk lady * Jean-Pierre Périer *

Bernard Paul Bernard Paul may refer to: * Bernard Paul (director), French film director and screenwriter * Bernard Paul (boxer) Bernard "Punching Postman" Paul (born October 22, 1965) is a Mauritian/British professional light welter/ welter/light middlewei ...

Lucien Desagneaux Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name *Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...

Reception

''The New York Times'' said Costa-Gavras "whips it up with a lot of camera trickery and an abundance of cinematic style" but added that "the plot gets so thick and calculated that it becomes temporarily congealed." ''TV Guide'' called it "an intriguing, highly entertaining thriller" and praised "Costa-Gavras' taut direction" that "propels this somewhat impenetrable mystery along at breakneck speed." ''Time Out'' said that "the ending is one of those ingenious absurdities that haunt the genre, but the lively pace and attention to detail make up for the implausibility."

References

External links

* 1965 films 1960s mystery films 1960s psychological thriller films CinemaScope films French thriller films Police detective films French neo-noir films Films directed by Costa Gavras Films based on French novels Films set in France Films set in Paris Rail transport films 1960s police procedural films Films based on works by Sébastien Japrisot 1960s French films {{psychological-thriller-film-stub