Year: 1962
Runtime: 120 mins
Language: French
Director: Julien Duvivier
A devilish presence haunts a series of seven 15‑minute vignettes, each exploring the fallout of violating one of the Ten Commandments. A profane employee risks losing his job; a lover discovers her stripper husband’s secret; a Jesuit novice quits to avenge his sister’s tragic end; a bored husband buys a necklace for his wife; a man learns his true mother is an actress; a bank cashier is dismissed; the devil appears as a serpent in a bishop’s meal.
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Read the complete plot breakdown of The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
Episode 1 Jérôme Chambard, the elderly handyman at a convent, faces a stern warning: if he keeps taking the name of the Lord in vain, he will lose his job. His fate seems sealed until the visiting the bishop turns out to be an old school friend, sparing him from dismissal and setting a tone of unexpected mercy that threads through the rest of the stories.
Episode 2 To obtain a beautiful necklace, Françoise Beaufort yields to the allure of Philip Allan, the wealthy husband of her friend Micheline Allan. The temptation and secrecy around the jewelry ripple through the relationships, as Georges Beaufort, Georges Beaufort, discovers the hidden piece and ultimately hands it over to Micheline after a carefree afternoon together, reshaping loyalties and trust within the circle.
Episode 3 Denis Mayeux, a Jesuit novice, steps away from the order to avenge his sister’s suicide, a tragedy sparked by Garigny who lured her into prostitution and drug use. The police reveal that Garigny would face only a few years if convicted for pimping and trafficking. Denis plans to confront Garigny unarmed, but Garigny grabs a concealed shotgun and shoots him. In truth, Denis had already alerted the authorities, and Garigny is subsequently arrested for murder, closing a violent chapter with a measure of tragic justice.
Episode 4 A stranger claiming to be God arrives at a remote farm, and his presence catalyzes remarkable acts: he helps the paralyzed grandfather stand and eases the dying grandmother’s last moments. His benevolent intervention is short-lived, however, as psychiatric nurses searching for him close in, leaving questions about faith, healing, and the boundaries between miracle and manipulation. The enigmatic figure is portrayed by Dieu, while the grandfather is remembered by Le grand-père as a man who had long seemed helpless until this miraculous moment.
Episode 5 Pierre Messager, a nearly 21-year-old medical student, grows up under tense tension with his taciturn father Marcel Messager and sharp-tinned mother Germaine Messager. Out of the blue, Marcel reveals that Pierre’s real mother is Clarisse Ardan, a renowned stage actress, and Pierre’s visit to Clarisse after a rehearsal becomes a test of character. Clarisse flirtatiously questions sincerity while evading the truth, leaving Pierre to decide that his best path is to honor and support the parents who raised him, even as a complicated bond with Clarisse lingers in the background.
Episode 6 Didier Marin’s life at the bank shifts from routine to crisis as he is told to leave his post. When a gunman targets the counter, Didier fills the robber’s suitcase with money and tracks the thief to his apartment. After a tense confrontation, the two men decide to share the loot, only to discover that the case contains bread, wine, and a sausage instead of cash. The tramp who swapped the food for money is arrested, and Didier’s quick thinking paradoxically saves him from immediate peril, highlighting a day where luck, prudence, and a touch of absurdity intersect.
Episode 7 Returning to Episode 1’s events, Jérôme Chambard and the bishop share a long, well-lubricated lunch, but the bishop’s memory falters when it comes to the Ten Commandments. The humor and weariness of the moment underscore the episode’s recurring theme: human fallibility and the ways faith, humor, and vulnerability intersect in ordinary life, leaving a lasting sense of both fragility and connection across the convent, the church, and the wider circle of characters who drift in and out of each other’s lives.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:17
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Anthology films that explore human flaws through whimsical, cautionary tales.Find more anthology films and sketch comedies similar to The Devil and the Ten Commandments. If you enjoyed its series of moral vignettes exploring human fallibility with a satirical touch, you'll appreciate these movies with a similar structure and thematic focus.
The narrative pattern involves a collection of self-contained stories, often linked by a central theme or narrator. Each segment presents a character facing a temptation or moral choice, leading to consequences that explore a facet of the film's overall ethical message.
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