Manon

Set in France just after the German occupation ends, this film follows Manon, a young woman accused of having collaborated with the Nazis, and Robert, a resistance fighter who rescued her from those seeking revenge. The two are caught as stowaways aboard a ship at the port of Marseille, and they recount to the captain the hardships they endured to stay alive. The story moves their relationship into the unsettled postwar years, where Manon's brother Léon, a small-time crook and smuggler, draws the couple toward Paris, wealth and crime.

Henri-Georges Clouzot directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Jean Ferry, working from a story that relocates the classic Manon Lescaut tale to the aftermath of the Liberation. Clouzot shot the film in France for the production company Alcina, with Paul-Edmond Decharme producing. It was the earliest of the five features listed for him, preceding The Wages of Fear, Diabolique, The Truth and Woman in Chains, and it runs 101 minutes across the adventure, drama and thriller genres.

Cécile Aubry plays Manon, with Michel Auclair as Robert and Serge Reggiani as Léon. The credited cast numbers 43, including Andrex, Raymond Souplex and André Valmy. On TMDB the film holds a rating of 6.8 out of 10 from 62 votes, a modest but solid showing for a postwar French drama.