Three Sinners (Meurtres) (1950)

Produced in 1950, the French Three Sinners was adapted by Charles Plisnier from his own novel Meurtres. The film was billed as the dramatic debut of comic-actor Fernandel, and though it really wasn't, he acquits himself nicely in a rare serious assignment. The topic is euthanasia: Noel Annequin's (Fernandel) dying wife begs her husband to put her out of her misery. He does so, then confesses his crime to his three brothers, all pillars of the community. Pursuing their own selfish agendae, the brothers cart their sibling off to a lunatic asylum. Only Noel's niece Martine (Jeanne Moreau) remains loyal, and it is Martine who sets the wheels in motion for a happier ending than the audience has been conditioned to expect. Incidentally, the title is ironic: as the plot unfolds, the viewer realizes that Noel's hypocritical brothers are the real sinners of the piece. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi