Critically hailed upon its original release, The Wages of Fear has maintained its reputation as a classic of world cinema and was responsible for propelling its director Henri-Georges Clouzot to international fame.

Based on the 1950 French novel Le Salaire de la Peur the film tells the story of an oil well in a South American village which is owned by an American company. The well catches fire and the company quickly hires four desperate European men, to drive two trucks loaded with highly volatile nitro-glycerine needed to extinguish the flames.

Clouzot’s deft ability to flit between tense dialogue and flashbacks allows the audience to become intimately acquainted with the four drivers before switching in the second half to a nail-biting, goosebump inducing thriller. The film brought Clouzot international fame and he went on to direct Les Diaboliques, the film which cemented his reputation as the “French Hitchcock”.

Cast and Crew:

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot (Les Diabolique, Le Corbeau: The Raven)

Cast: Yves Montand (Z, Jean de Florette), Charles Vanel (To Catch a Thief), Peter van Eyck (The Spy Who Came In From The Cold)

Awards and Reviews:

• Won 1955 BAFTA for Best Film
• Won Golden Bear, Berlin Film Festival
• Won Grand Prix at 1953 Cannes Film Festival
• **** Roger Ebert
• 2010 Empire magazine ranked it #9 in the Best Films of World Cinema.
• A rare 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes