Elevator to the Gallows

Florence Carala and Julien Tavernier quietly hatch a plan to kill Florence's husband, Simon Carala, a wealthy industrialist and Julien's boss. Julien, a former Foreign Legion parachutist, brings cold calculation while Florence provides motive born of love and fear. The couple discusses the details and agrees on a Saturday when the office should be empty.

Julien climbs the exterior of Simon Carala's office building and shoots him with Simon's own gun. The scene is arranged to look like a suicide, and Julien returns to his own office with a prepared alibi. He leaves behind a secretary and a security guard who will corroborate the false story.

Julien rushes back inside, boards the elevator and waits as it rises. Unbeknownst to him, the security guard has switched off the power and locked up for the weekend, trapping Julien between floors. The situation shifts from a clean getaway to a tense, entangling delay.

Julien's car is stolen by Louis, a petty criminal, and Véronique, Louis's partner, becomes an awkward link to Julien's life. They don Julien's coat and Véronique finds Julien's revolver in the glovebox, bringing Julien's secret plan into peril. The stolen car ties the couple's misfortune to Julien's alibi.

Florence spots Julien's car passing by with Véronique leaning from a window and misreads the scene, fearing Julien has failed the plan and is entangled with Véronique. She drifts through Paris that night, visiting urban bars and clubs with desperate persistence born from love and fear. The city becomes a labyrinth veiling the truth.

Louis and Véronique drive Julien's car to a highway motel after a race with a rival Mercedes. They confront Horst Bencker and his wife Frieda; in a tense moment, Louis kills both with Julien's gun. The murder marks a brutal turn that tangles Julien's fate with the criminals' trail.

Frieda photographs the scene with Véronique using Julien's camera, and Véronique drops the photographs at the motel's lab to be developed. The images become crucial evidence that could connect the Benckers’ deaths to the mysterious couple. The laboratory becomes a focal point for the plot's turning point.

Louis and Véronique return to Paris and hide in Véronique's apartment, convinced they have escaped justice. However, the appearance of Julien's car, gun, and raincoat beside the Benckers' bodies drives the police to name Julien as the prime suspect. Julien, unaware of the morning's connection, leaves his elevator workplace and heads to a cafe where he is recognized and arrested.

Julien steps out for a quiet breakfast, unaware of the police investigation closing in on him. He is recognized by a witness, and the improvised alibi crumbles as authorities arrest him. The arrest shifts the balance of guilt in the public eye.

Florence refuses Julien's fate and pursues Véronique's address to confront the source of the crime. She charges Véronique and Louis with murder and calls the police with an anonymous tip. The pursuit intensifies the emotional stakes as love competes with justice.

Louis races to the motel's lab, hoping the film roll still holds an alibi, only to discover the developed photographs reveal the lovers' crimes. The images capture Florence and Julien together, exposing the conspiracy and destroying the couple's carefully constructed alibis. The truth shifts the entire investigation toward a tragic climax.

Commissaire Cherrier informs Florence that she will likely face a harsher sentence than Julien, despite her actions being driven by love. Florence remains resolute, insisting that she and Julien will someday be reunited. The film closes on her trance-like faith and the haunting resonance of their dangerous passion.