Le Corbeau (1943)

In a small provincial French village, a series of poison pen letters accusing various townspeople of moral and ethical crimes infects the entire town to the point of hysteria. The director Henri Georges Clouzot, as he proved with WAGES OF FEAR and DIABOLIQUE, has a talent for whipping up suspense while providing a strong story structure as well as tension. Since the film was made during the Nazi occupation of France, it's an obvious allegory of betrayal and collaboration but the film offended just about everybody and Clouzot's reputation was tarnished for several years after WWII. But the film, like Arthur Miller's THE CRUCIBLE, is an excellent example of how false accusations and unsubstantiated gossip are truly evil in their ability to destroy lives. What's near remarkable is that Clouzot does this with a gallery of unsympathetic characters! With Pierre Fresnay, Ginette Leclerc, Micheline Francey, Pierre Larquey, Helena Manson and Sylvie.