Bluebeard (Landru)

Landru, released in the United States as Bluebeard, is a French-Italian co-production from 1963 signed by Claude Chabrol. Shot in French, it runs about two hours and is classed as a biographical crime drama. It joins a crime drama grounded in documentary material with touches of black comedy.

The subject is the real story of Henri Désiré Landru, a French serial killer who was responsible for the deaths of more than ten women during the First World War; the narrative moves around his capture and trial. Charles Denner plays Landru. Michèle Morgan, Danielle Darrieux and Hildegard Knef are the other leading names, with Juliette Mayniel, Stéphane Audran, Catherine Rouvel and Mary Marquet also in the cast.

The screenplay is by Françoise Sagan. In Germany the film is known as Der Frauenmörder von Paris. Most sources date it to 1963, while one gives 1962.