Le trio infernal aka The Infernal Trio (1974) Blackest Comedy Noir

Directed by Francis Girod.

Written by Francis Girod and Jacques Rouffio, and based on Solange Fasquelle's novel based on a true story. In 1934 the real Georges Sarett was guillotined for his crimes and despite incontrovertible evidence he claimed innocence to the end.

Cinematography by Andréas Winding. Music by Ennio Morricone

The film stars Michel Piccoli (Contempt, Bell de Jour) as Georges Sarret (Georges Alexander Sarrejani, alias Sarret, BTW was a Trieste-born Greek). 

Romy Schneider (Purple Noon, Good Neighbor Sam, What's New Pussycat, Max And The Junkman) as Philomena Schmidt, Mascha Gonska as Catherine Schmidt, Bavarian sisters. Philippe Brizard (The Phantom of Liberty) as Chambon, Andréa Ferréol (The Last Metro, The Phantom of the Opera) as Noemie, Jean Rigaux as Villette, Monica Fiorentini as Magali, Hubert Deschamps as Detreuil.

This will not be for all tastes....

Story

During the title sequence we see a nurse, Philomena Schmidt, her patient an old English lady in a wheelchair, and two servants assisting them, we hear military music. They are in a hurry to get to a military honors ceremony. 

Romy Schneider as Philomena Schmidt rt.

A local WWI hero lawyer Georges Sarret is being awarded the legion of honor medal. 

Michael Piccoli Georges Sarret

We watch some of the ceremony then cut to the crowd of onlookers and see Philomena pushing her charge in the wheelchair through the outside fringe. As soon as she stops the old woman keels over dead.

We cut to a bedroom. The old woman is being laid out on a bed. Her son a diplomat is discussing Philomena's situation. They are not going to need her any longer obviously, besides, He's asked to be transferred to Bombay. 

Cut to Philomena and old man Villette who is pestering her in her room while she is packing. Philo is panicking, telling Villette that she going to be deported back to Germany and be on the streets, with no place to live and no money. 

Villette who is in "love" with her, explains to Philo that he can't marry her because he never divorced his wife who disappeared during the war.. Philo isn't interested in whatever Villette has in mind. Philo yells at him to get out.

At the funeral Georges Sarret is paying his respects and meets Philo who is at the register table handing out mass cards. Georges hands Philo his business card, he is a lawyer, and he tells her that if he can be of any service. 

Georges hands Philo his business card, he is a lawyer, and he tells her that if he can be of any service. 

Apparently part of the service is stud service.

Cut to two figures making love wrapped in sheets after a grunting climax two heads pop into view Philo and Georges. Fast worker. 

Georges knowing that she will be deported, asks Philo why Villette won't marry her? She replies with the story of the missing wife. Philo is a citizen of Germany and marrying Villette a French citizen will allow her to stay in France.

Cut to Sarret's office where Villette with Philo by his side, is informed by Sarret that they found his wife. Philo is there to offer her support and comfort when Georges relates that she's been dead for almost the last 30 years. 

Jean Rigaux as Villette

Cut to the wedding photo shoot of Villette and Philo. Here on the steps we first meet Philo's sister Catherine. While Villette and Philo are front and center of the photo shoot, Georges behind them hitting on Catherine. 

Cut to the wedding photo shoot of Villette and Philo. Here on the steps we first meet Philo's sister Catherine. While Villette and Philo are front and center of the photo shoot, Georges behind them hitting on Catherine.

Mascha Gonska as Catherine Schmidt

Cut to two figures wrapped in a sheet, screwing on a bed. Almost a replay of the first. After a final thrust though, it is revealed to be Georges and Catherine. 

There's an awkward moment when Philo knocks on the door. And a humorous one, when Georges hops out of bed pants less, wearing only his shirt with his sock garters exposed and he's using his bowler hat to hide his erection. 

When Philo walks in she takes it all in stride and sits on the end of the bed telling Georges and Catherine that its boring downstairs at her own wedding. When Georges announces that he's going to spend time with Philo's husband and walks out the door Philo starts calling Catherine a slut and they start fighting. Georges rushes in and breaks it up.

Cut to Georges and Catherine coming back from doing the town. Both are drunk. Georges pushes Catherine into the bathroom, orders champagne brought up and when it comes he asks for the beds to be pushed together.  

Catherine pops out of the bathroom wearing only her garter and stockings and holding a couple of bananas in front of her bush and dances. 

Catherine pops out of the bathroom wearing only her garter and stockings and holding a couple of bananas in front of her bush and dances. 

The Josephine Baker moment

Apparently they must have gone to see Josephine Baker, it's a clever sequence. Once Catherine hops into bed we get a little not so subtle subtext when she peals one of the bananas and eats it. 

Georges asks her how would she like to be married. Of course he doesn't mean to him. Georges has another scheme in mind. He plans to have Catherine married off to a card player Monsieur Detreuil who likes to gamble. Georges visits Detreuil at his favorite cafe and tells him that he has a woman that wants to be French, and he can help her, and that he will pay him. 

Hubert Deschamps as Detreuil

We cut to another wedding photo shoot of Detreuil and Catherine. Once the photo is taken, Georges slips Detreuil an envelope of money and then Georges walks off with Catherine. We cut to Villette's home where a black sash tied to the painting indicates his death. A shame he wasn't insured remarks Georges and here is where the scheme gets started. 

We cut to Georges and another of his contacts Chambon (a defrocked priest). Georges is lining him up to impersonate Detreuil to an insurance doctor and forge Detreuil's signature on a policy that he's going to take out, and and make his wife Catherine beneficiary. 

Chambon wants 10,000 francs to do the scam  Georges tell him he'll only pay him 5,000.

We cut to the doctors office at the end of an examination. Chambon has dyed his hair gray impersonating Detreuil, and as he is putting on his jacket the doctor announces to him "that in your condition you'll live to be a hundred."

We cut to a cemetery and see an oval picture of Detreuil on a cross, and his coffin being lowered into the grave below. 

We watch as Georges, Philo, and Detreuil's wife Catherine, pay their respects and then we quick cut to the insurance lawyer doling out the insurance money to Catherine. 

We next see Georges sitting at a desk with the pile of francs. He first deducts his expenses announcing them aloud to the women.

Georges: 2,150 francs Detreuil, burial of Detreuil including tips 1280, presents to men of honor 4,600, 5,000 to Chambon, insurance premiums 10,080, cost of marriage of Catherine rings dress flowers, and so on 11790, various expenses, taxi, restaurant, phone calls 21,618, a total of 67,418 francs. Which I subtract and collect without any extra money. Please notice that. 

Philo: And how do you call such a little financial transaction?

Georges: General expenses

Philo: I call it theft.

Georges: The 132,600 francs remaining I divide into two parts. 66,300 francs for me  66,300 francs for you.

Georges uses some of his cash to move into new law offices.

The sisters spend some of their money on new fashionable clothes and decide to go to Paris to spend some of the rest. They take the "Le Train Bleu" the Marseilles-Paris luxury express but on the journey she turns toward Noirsville when Philo has second thoughts, and decides she wants to go back to Georges. 

So we see her slip some extra cash into a book held by her snoozing sister Catherine and she takes her bag and crosses the platform in Lyon to catch the Paris-Marseilles train heading back South.

Meanwhile, Georges is having dinner with Chambon. When he asks how he and Noemie met, Noemie answers Georges that it was on the ship back from China. She relates that Chambon had a problem with young Chinese but she cured him of it. 

The dinner is interrupted by a client who brings Noemie two candelabra. Chambon tells Georges she lends money. 

When Noemie returns she tells Georges that gold doesn't lie. She wants gold to keep quiet. 

Philo, now back in Marseilles is hiding in Georges new law office, and surprises him when he returns.  

Philo runs up to Georges and puts her arms around him. He pushes her away. 

He tells her angrily, to get out, but Philo starts stripping off her clothes to entice him. 

When half nude she walks to a ladder in front of the window of his law office and poses on it. George freaks out and runs over to shut the shutters. Philo asks aren't you glad to see me? 

"Aren't you Glad to see me?"

He pulls her away. He whips her with her dress. They have a mock wrestling session and they end up making love on the floor.

We cut to Georges and Philo sitting in his 1932 Citroën C4 G at night looking with binoculars through a window of Chambon and Noemie playing sex games. 

Georges has a plan to get rid of these loose ends, and Philo after thinking it over tells him 50-50. They seal their bargain with a kiss, and they are on their way to Noirsville.

Georges has recently rented a villa "L’Hermitage" and has invited Chambon and his mistress Noemie Ballandreaux there for Christmas. 

Next we see Philo and George sitting in a tub. We wonder, WTF? Then we watch as they both try to squeeze down into the tub. 

Again WTF are they doing? At the end of this sequence Georges says we are going to need two tubs. 

Solange Fasquelle's novel, Le trio infernal was published in 1972 and it must have been best seller with a known plot points because from the way the film is put together the director assumes the audience at that time is in on the joke and knows what's going on, and what's coming. Looking at it blind fifty years later it appears somewhat disjointed, looking at it the second go round after knowing the true story, you get the visual picaresque humor and jokes.

Night. We watch as Georges drives up in his 1932 Citroën C4 G with the trunk lid down acting like a tail gate on the rear carrying two large demijohns sitting in baskets lined with straw. 

He hops out opens the door and yells for Philo and Catherine to come help. Philo hepls him carry in one demijohn and then the two sisters carry the other. Georges returns to retrieve a third demijohn, and  orders Catherine and Philo to get the rest out of the car.

We cut to an exterior shot of "L’Hermitage." An Italianate villa with palm trees and cedars under a blue Mediterranean sky. We hear the tinkling of a faint Christmas carol. 

It's Oh Tannenbaum. We cut to Catherine sitting at the piano playing. Georges is decorating the tree. Philo is in the kitchen baking pastries,

We segue to the evening and an exterior of "L’Hermitage." 

Again we hear Oh Tannenbaum and when we cut to the interior its loud, Catherine playing it fortissimo.  Philo and Noemie are in the kitchen cleaning up. 

Chambon is in the den reading the evening paper. Suddenly the paper is punctured by a shot as Georges just nonchalantly shot him in the head with a pistol. 

He never saw it coming.

Noirsville here we come...

Noirsville 

This was Francis Girod's first film. It will help immensely if you Google Georges Sarret and the read the facts of the case before you watch. You'll better understand what the film just glosses over. Also as I mentioned above the picaresque humor will be more appreciated.

Michel Piccoli and Romy Schneider shine, the cinematography is great, and Ennio Morricone's score is amusing and very complementary. 

While the film has an ambiguous ending, a marriage between Philo and Georges (after the death of Catherine (which deviates from reality))... a fate worse than death. Wink. wink

The real Georges Sarret was guillotined and the Schmidt sisters both served 10 years. Definitely worth a watch. 7-8/10. 

It was a 1974 Nominee for a Gold Hugo for Best Feature - Francis Girod

Real End of Serrat