Le Rideau rouge (1952)
Directed by André Barsacq

Film Synopsis

An ageing police inspector amuses himself by recalling one his more baffling cases - the murder of the director of the Théâtre de l'Atelier in the place Dancourt, Paris.  Berthal was never a popular theatre director, in fact he was hated by most of the people who worked for him.  So when he met a violent death there was no shortage of suspects.  It seemed that just about everyone who knew him had a motive for killing him!  The most likely suspect was Sigurd, a veteran actor well past his prime, who was sent packing by his vile employer.  Aurellia, the dead man's girlfriend, also had her reasons for putting Berthal out of the way, as did her secret lover, Ludovic.

As the cast continue with their performance of Macbeth, the police begin their investigation and soon discover that Berthal not only knew about his mistress's affair with Ludovic, he also took advantage of this to make life hell for these two people.  It then looks as if Sigurd was the murderer.  After getting into a fierce argument with the director, the old actor beat him fiercely and left him for dead.  Unfortunately, this revelation brings the police no closer to who actually killed Berthal, since he was shot dead.  It then becomes apparent that there is a disturbing parallel between the director's murder and the play that was being performed on stage at the time of his death...