''Eight Men in a Castle'' (French: ''Huit hommes dans un château'') is a 1942 French

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

directed by

Richard Pottier Richard Pottier (6 June 1906, in Graz – 2 November 1994, in Le Plessis-Bouchard) was a film director in France. He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire as Ernst Deutsch. Selected filmography * ''If I Were Boss (1934 film), If I Were Boss'' ( ...

and starring

René Dary René Dary (19 July 1905 – 6 October 1974) was a French film actor.Witt & Temple p.150 Dary began his career as a child actor. Selected filmography * '' Sidonie Panache'' (1934) * ''The Lie of Nina Petrovna'' (1937) * '' S.O.S. Sahara'' (1938) ...

Jacqueline Gauthier Jacqueline Gauthier (7 October 1921 – 18 September 1982) was a French stage and film actress.Goble p.115 Selected filmography * '' Louise'' (1939) * ''The Woman I Loved Most'' (1942) * '' At Your Command, Madame'' (1942) * '' The Newspaper ...

and

Aline Carola Aline may refer to: *Aline (given name), a feminine given name Places *Aline, Idaho, United States, first settlement of the Latter-day Saints movement, now a ghost town *Aline, Oklahoma, United States, a town *Loch Aline, Scotland *266 Aline, a ma ...

. Siclier p.110 It was shot at the Photosonor Studios in

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is a suburb of Paris, from the Kilometre zero, center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the ci ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Marcel Mary. It was based on the 1934 novel of the same title by Jean Kéry.

Synopsis

Following the sinking of a ship, the various survivors meet up again in a castle in the provinces. A series of murders take place around a mystery solving an inheritance that draws in amongst others a husband and wife team of detective novelists and a young actor.

Cast

as Monsieur Paladine *

as Madame Paladine *

as Hélène de Chanceau *

Louis Salou Louis Vincent Goulven Salou (23 April 1902 – 12 October 1948) was a French stage and film actor. Louis was born in Oissel and died in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Paris. Selected filmography * '' White Nights in Saint Petersburg'' (1938) * ''Firs ...

as Delaunay *

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 * (1938) - Victoire Pecqueux * '' Three from St Cyr'' ...

as La comtesse de Chanceau *

André Carnège 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, as well in Portugal, ...

as Le juge d'instruction *

Pierre Palau Pierre Palau (13 August 1883 – 3 December 1966), often known simply as Palau, was a French actor. Palau was born Pierre Palau del Vitri in Paris and died at age 83 in Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine, France. Partial filmography * '' When Do You Commi ...

as Le notaire * Jean Meyer as Le neveu du notaire *

Maurice Pierrat Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean *Maurice, Iowa, a city *Maurice, Louisiana, a village *Maurice River, a trib ...

as Le maître d'hôtel *

Jean Daurand Jean Daurand (1913–1989) was a French actor. He starred in ''La Nuit Merveilleuse'' and ''Derrière la Facade''. Selected filmography * ''Rothchild'' (1933) * ''Le secret d'une nuit'' (1934) * ''Pension Mimosas'' (1935) - Un groom (uncredite ...

as L'acrobate *

Charles Lemontier Charles Lemontier (1894–1965) was a French film actor.Aping p.76 Selected filmography * ''Street Without a Name'' (1934) * ''Judex'' (1934) * ''Crime and Punishment'' (1935) * '' Rigolboche'' (1936) * '' School for Journalists'' (1936) * '' Wh ...

as Le cuisinier * Jean Morel as Le commandant Dupuis *

Gabrielle Fontan Gabrielle Fontan (16 April 1873 – 8 September 1959) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 120 films between 1927 and 1959. Selected filmography * '' Misdeal'' (1928) * '' The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard'' (1929) * '' The La ...

as L'aubergiste *

Eugène Frouhins Eugène Frouhins (1888–1966) was a French stage actor, stage and film actor.Histoire du cinéma français p.112 Selected filmography * ''Fanfare of Love'' (1935) * ''Sing Anyway'' (1940) * ''Annette and the Blonde Woman'' (1942) * ''Eight Men i ...

as Le jardinier *

Georges Vasty Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia * Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 19 ...

as L'inspecteur * Robert Arpin as Le mousse *

Georges Grey Georges Grey, born Georges-Jean-Joseph Gacon (1911–1954) was a French actor. In 1948 he starred in the film '' The Lame Devil'' under Sacha Guitry. Biography He studied engineering at university, before going to the Saumur Cavalry School. He ...

as Alain Severac

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Leahy, Sarah & Vanderschelden, Isabelle. ''Screenwriters in French cinema''. Manchester University Press, 2021. * Rège, Philippe. ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1''. Scarecrow Press, 2009. * Siclier, Jacques. ''La France de Pétain et son cinéma''. H. Veyrier, 1981.

External links

* 1942 films French drama films 1942 drama films French crime films 1942 crime films French mystery films 1942 mystery films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Richard Pottier French black-and-white films 1940s French films Films based on French novels {{1940s-France-film-stub