The Affair of the Poisons (film)

The Affair of the Poisons (French: L'affaire des poisons, Italian: Il processo dei veleni) is a 1955 French-Italian historical drama film directed by Henri Decoin and starring Danielle Darrieux, Viviane Romance and Paul Meurisse. The film is adapted from the 1907 play of the same title by Victorien Sardou. It was shot in Technicolor at the Boulogne Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jean d'Eaubonne. The film is set against the backdrop of the real Affair of the Poisons in seventeenth century France, and demonstrates a darker tone than many more nostalgic depictions of the past.

Synopsis
Worried that she is losing the interest of Louis XIV, his lover Madame de Montespan turns to a young witch who takes part in network of black magic and poisoning. The ensuing scandal rocks the French court and leads to arrests, executions and the banishment of de Montespan from public life.

Cast

 * Danielle Darrieux as Françoise Athénaïs de Montespan
 * Viviane Romance as Catherine Deshayes dite La Voisin
 * Paul Meurisse as L'abbé Etienne Guibourg
 * Anne Vernon as 	Hermine Des Oeillets
 * Pierre Mondy as Le capitaine François Desgrez
 * François Patrice as Monsieur de Lignières
 * Christine Carère as Marie-Angélique de Fontanges
 * Roldano Lupi as 	L'alchimiste Lesage
 * Albert Rémy as 	Le bourreau Guillaume
 * Luisa Rossi as 	Madame Gobet
 * Renaud Mary as 	Henri de Montespan
 * Maurice Teynac as Nicolas de la Reynie
 * Roland Armontel as 	L'aveugle
 * Michel Etcheverry as Le prédicateur
 * Albert Michel as 	Gobet
 * Jacques Moulières as 	L'enfant de l'aveugle
 * André Numès Fils as 	Le greffier
 * Dominique Page as 	La fille enceinte
 * Simone Paris as 	Madame de Ludre
 * Jean-Marie Robain as 	Un juge de la Chambre Ardente