Source: Some information on this page may have been sourced as part of the 2023 Wikimedia Australia Partnership Projects grant, with the purpose of improving and expanding the use of Wikidata on our website. Wikidata is a free and open knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. Read more about this project here.
Michel Serrault gives an extraordinary perfomance as ‘Dr Petiot’, a serial killer who lured Jews into his trap by offering them protection from the Nazis. The film’s expressionistic quality, emphasised by the heavy make-up of Petiot, and the deep focus photography, gives the film a nightmare quality reminiscent of the early German silent horror films. Indeed the film opens with scenes from one such film, plunging us into a world of evil. Based on a true character, Serrault’s perfomance is chilling.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
304620
Language
French
Audience classification
PG
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Expressionism in motion pictures
Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Serial murderers
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)