''Good Lord Without Confession'' (French: ''Le Bon Dieu sans confession'') is a 1953 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Claude Autant-Lara Claude Autant-Lara (; 5 August 1901 – 5 February 2000) was a French film director, screenwriter, set designer and costume designer who worked in films for over 50 years. He made films characterised by bourgeois Realism (arts), realism, anti- ...

and starring

Danielle Darrieux Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux (; 1 May 1917 – 17 October 2017) was a French actress of stage, television and film, as well as a singer and dancer. Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's g ...

Henri Vilbert Henri Vilbert (; 6 April 1904 – 20 April 1997) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films from 1921 to 1982. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vilbert, Henri 1904 births 1997 deaths 20t ...

and

Claude Laydu Claude Laydu (; 10 March 1927 – 29 July 2011) was a Belgian-born Swiss actor on stage and in films. He was renowned for his performance in his film debut in the role of the young priest in Robert Bresson's ''Diary of a Country Priest'' (1951) ...

. Walker-Morrison p.223 It was shot at the Francoeur Studios in

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 ...

Max Douy Max Douy (June 20, 1913 – July 2, 2007) was a French art director.Hayward p.245 Selected filmography * ''The Rules of the Game'' (1939) * ''There's No Tomorrow'' (1939) * '' The Trump Card'' (1942) * '' Goodbye Leonard'' (1943) * '' Paris Frill ...

. The film premiered at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

in September 1953 and went on general release in France the following month. Henri Vilbert won the

Volpi Cup for Best Actor The Volpi Cup for Best Actor () is the principal award given to actors at the Venice Film Festival and is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the Venice Film Festival. The name and number of prizes have been changed ...

for his performance.

Synopsis

At the funeral of François Dupont, his various associates walk in the procession including his wife, children,

business partner A business partner is a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties. Alternatively, it may be ...

and

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

Janine. The various characters recall their experiences with the deceased. In flashback we see Janine's relationship with Dupont, and how she had manipulated and exploited him through the turbulent years of the Occupation and

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

. Ultimately her machinations fail and she loses the man she really loves, her husband Maurice.

Cast

as Janine Fréjoul *

as François Dupont *

as Roland Dupont *

Ivan Desny Ivan Desny (born Ivan Nikolaevich Desnitsky; , 28 December 1922 – 13 April 2002) was a French actor of Russian Chinese origin. He had a lengthy career in French and German cinema, appearing in over 200 film and television roles over 50 year ...

as Maurice Fréjoul *

Grégoire Aslan Grégoire Aslan (born Krikor Kaloust Aslanian (); 28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician. Early life He was born to an Armenian family in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources. He m ...

as Varesco * Myno Burney as Marie Dupont *

Isabelle Pia Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

as Denise Dupont *

Jean Dunot 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 * Jean ...

as Marfoisse *

Julien Carette Julien Henri Carette (23 December 1897 – 20 July 1966) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1964. Selected filmography * '' American Love'' (1931) - Lepape * ''Seul'' (1932) - Michel * '' Fun in the Ba ...

as Eugène *

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), ...

as Le fils d'Eugène *

Georges Bever Georges Bever (1884–1973) was a French film and television actor.Goble p.38 Selected filmography * '' The Crystal Submarine '' (1927) * '' Chérie'' (1930) * ''The Man in Evening Clothes'' (1931) * '' I'll Be Alone After Midnight'' (1931) * '' ...

as Albert, le domestique *

Jo Dest Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy * ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series *"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from ''Tales of Us'' *"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from '' Lambs Anger'' * Jo a ficti ...

as Weber * Michel Dumur as Roland enfant * Marie-Chantal Fefert as Denise enfant * Marcelle Féry as La concierge * René Lacourt as Le bistrotier *

Michel Le Royer Michel Le Royer (31 August 1932 – 25 February 2022) was a French actor, known for his roles in '' La Fayette'', '' Nutty, Naughty Chateau'', and '' Her Harem''. He died on 25 February 2022, at the age of 89. Selected filmography * '' Good Lor ...

as Thierry, le petit ami de Denise *

Madeleine Suffel Madeleine Suffel (1899–1974) was a French film and stage actress.Palmer & Michael p.274 She played supporting roles in a number of films from the early 1930s onwards. Selected filmography * '' A Rare Bird'' (1935) * '' School for Coquettes'' (1 ...

as La marchande des quatre saisons

References

Bibliography

* Biggs, Melissa E. ''French films, 1945-1993: a critical filmography of the 400 most important releases''. McFarland & Company, 1996. *Walker-Morrison, Deborah. ''Classic French Noir: Gender and the Cinema of Fatal Desire''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.

External links

* 1953 films 1953 drama films French drama films 1950s French-language films Films directed by Claude Autant-Lara Pathé films Films based on French novels Films shot at Francoeur Studios Films with screenplays by Roland Laudenbach 1950s French films Films scored by René Cloërec French-language drama films {{1950s-France-film-stub