We Are All Murderers
Nous sommes tous des assassins
Originally titled Nous Sommes Tout des Assassins, We Are All Murderers was directed by Andre Cayette, a former lawyer who detested France's execution system. Charles Spaak's screenplay makes no attempt to launder the four principal characters (Marcel Mouloudji, Raymond Pellegrin, Antoinine Balpetre, Julien Verdeir): never mind the motivations, these are all hardened murderers. Still, the film condemns the sadistic ritual through which these four men are brought to the guillotine. In France, the policy is to never tell the condemned man when the execution will occur--and then to show up without warning and drag the victim kicking and screaming to his doom, without any opportunity to make peace with himself or his Maker. By the end of this harrowing film, the audience feels as dehumanized as the four "protagonists." We Are All Murderers was roundly roasted by the French law enforcement establishment, but it won a special jury prize at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival.
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Cast
Marcel Mouloudji
as René Le Guen
Raymond Pellegrin
as Gino Bollini
Antoine Balpêtré
as Dr. Albert Dutoit
Julien Verdier
as Bauchet
Claude Laydu
as Philippe Arnaud
Georges Poujouly
as Michel Le Guen
Jacqueline Pierreux
as Yvonne Le Guen (version française)
Lucien Nat
as L'avocat général
Louis Arbessier
as L'avocat du tribunal pour enfants
René Blancard
as Albert Pichon
Léonce Corne
as Le colonel instructeur
Henri Crémieux
as L'avocat de Bauchet
Jean Daurand
as Girard, l'homme dans la cabine téléphonique
Yvonne de Bray
as La chiffonnière
Guy Decomble
as Un inspecteur
Monette Dinay
as La femme de Charles
Yvette Etiévant
as L'épouse de Bauchet
Juliette Faber
as Francine Saulnier
Paul Faivre
as Biribi
Anouk Ferjac
as Agnès
Paul Frankeur
as Léon
Renée Gardès
as La mère Le Guen
Jérôme Goulven
as Noblet
Elisabeth Hardy
as La mère de la petite fille
François Joux
as Saulnier
Charles Lemontier
as Le procureur
Roland Lesaffre
as Le détenu-coiffeur
Daniel Mendaille
as Un gardien
Jacques Morel
as Charles
Jean-Paul Moulinot
as Le directeur de la Santé
Amedeo Nazzari
as Docteur Detouche (version italienne)
Line Noro
as Madame Arnaud
Marcel Pérès
as Malingré
André Reybaz
as Le père Simon
Alexandre Rignault
as Le gendarme
Yvonne Sanson
as Yvonne Le Guen (version italienne)
Louis Seigner
as L'abbé Roussard
Solange Sicard
as La mère d'Agnès
Sylvie
as Laetitia Bollini
Georges Tabet
as Le pianiste
Jean-Marc Tennberg
as Fredo
André Valmy
as P'tit Louis
François Vibert
as Maître Mousset
Henri Vilbert
as Mr. Arnaud
Edmond Ardisson
as Un garde (uncredited)
René Berthier
as Un monsieur (uncredited)
Charles Bouillaud
as L'agent (uncredited)
