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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 703

L'Auberge rouge

192380 minFrance
Drama

Synopsis

A disturbing story interrupts a dinner gathering: years earlier, two young doctors shared a room at an inn with a wealthy traveller. By morning the traveller was dead and one companion had vanished, leaving the other accused of murder. As the account unfolds, the past begins to disturb the apparent respectability of those listening to it.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: French.
This copy runs
72:21
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: French. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Jean Epstein · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsJean Epstein

Inspirations

Jean Epstein adapts Honoré de Balzac's short story about crime, wealth and the delayed discovery of guilt. It is distinct from the later films about the notorious inn at Peyrebeille.

Behind the scenes

The production used the Château de Vincennes as a filming location. Its movement between the dinner and the earlier crime makes recollection central to the way the mystery is revealed.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and creditsLa Cinémathèque française — L'Auberge rougeLarousse — L'Auberge rouge

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

  • Gina Manès — Johannot; Postcard from personnal collection · Public domain
  • Léon Mathot — H.A.P.N.F/ Archival by La Presse; This image is available from Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec under the reference number 4011915 · Public domain

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