The Human Beast
1938 · Movie · 98 min · ★ 7.1 · 88% critics
A troubled railway worker’s routine run to a French port is disrupted when he crosses paths with a stationmaster and the stationmaster’s wife. Drawn into their volatile relationship, he finds himself caught between desire, loyalty, and the mounting pressure of secrets tied to life on the rails.
Based on La Bête humaine
Also known as Judas Was a Woman · Of Human Passions
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Details
- Original title
- La Bête humaine
- Years
- 1938
- Release date
- 1938-12-23
- Language
- French
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Critic score
- 88/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.1/10 (242 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a dark, gritty crime-and-desire drama set around railroads, with a fatalistic mood; Not for you if you need fast pacing or easy-to-like characters, like in The Rules of the Game.
Pros: gritty railroad atmosphere; striking train imagery; strong central performances | Cons: uneven pacing; melodrama over nuance; characters feel distant
Themes
- husband wife relationship
- based on novel or book
- family secrets
- le havre, france
- troubled marriage
- railwayman
- traumatized man
- railway
Cast & crew
Jean Gabin
as Lantier
Simone Simon
as Séverine
Fernand Ledoux
as Roubaud
Julien Carette
as Pecqueux
Blanchette Brunoy
as Flore
Gérard Landry
as Dauvergne
Jenny Hélia
as Philomène
Colette Régis
as Victoire
Claire Gérard
as Voyager
Charlotte Clasis
as Aunt Phasie
Directed by Jean Renoir