Le trio infernal (1974)

Directed by: Francis Girod | 107 minutes | comedy, horror | Actors: Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, Mascha Gonska, Philippe Brizard, Jean Rigaux, Monica Fiorentini, Hubert Deschamps, Monique Tarbès, Andréa Ferréol, Francis Claude, Pierre Dac

Marseilles, 1920s. After the death of her employer, Philomena ends up on the street penniless. Not only does she want money to live on and a roof over her head, she also wants French instead of German nationality, which can only be achieved by marrying a Frenchman. Lawyer Georges Sarret makes sure all this is sorted out, and while he’s busy looking after her, he has a passionate affair with her despite her marriage. He also manages to arrange something beautiful for her sister Catherine and makes sure that she, just like Philomena, is also attracted to her sexually.

The proceeds of the life insurance policies of the two deceased spouses are divided among the three, but soon a new, highly profitable opportunity presents itself. This time it’s about a couple they have to kill in order to appropriate their house, countless precious possessions and enormous wealth. The trio is not afraid of this either. And although Catherine has considerably more trouble with the moral aspect of their act than the other two, she is fully involved in the double murder and the clearing of the corpses. But even then, their greed is not over and new ideas are bubbling up.

The word ‘bizarre’ fails to describe this pitch black comedy. The actions of the characters are without a doubt reprehensible, but strangely enough they do not evoke a moral condemnation. Michel Piccoli plays incredibly well the villainous, completely unscrupulous lawyer who grabs everything he can appropriate in terms of money and sex without any hesitation. But he does it so shamelessly that you don’t look at him with disgust, but with breathless admiration and you regularly laugh at him in disbelief. And then Romy Schneider. The two corpses of the rich couple are finally completely dissolved in an acid bath. While Michel Piccoli empties the bathtub with a ladle, accompanied by extraordinarily plastic sounds that make you chuckle, she and Catherine walk up and down the stairs with two buckets to empty them in the garden. Then the work is done and she gives Michel Piccoli a blowjob with a natural elegance that no one can imitate in the bathroom, where the remnants of their gruesome labor still lie. A lady under the most diverse circumstances.

‘Le trio infernal’ is a hilarious, but jet and pitch black comedy that is full of bizarre actions and has an erotic charge that sparks sparks. A curious, but incredibly captivating and comical crime film.