Robert Cummings
Charles D'Aubigny
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Synopsis
An opponent of Robespierre assumes another man's identity to enter the revolutionary leader's circle. He is ordered to recover a missing book listing future victims of the regime. Finding it could protect Robespierre or unite his enemies, making every alliance in a tense, rapidly changing Paris potentially fatal.
Cast
DirectorsAnthony Mann
Behind the scenes
Anthony Mann and cinematographer John Alton carry the shadows and tension of film noir into a French Revolution setting. William Cameron Menzies contributed production design to a tightly budgeted historical thriller. The film was also circulated under the title The Black Book.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 10, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Robert Cummings — CBS Television · Public domain
- Arlene Dahl — Young and Rubicam, publicists · Public domain
- Richard Basehart — CBS Television · Public domain
- Richard Hart — The Bureau of Industrial Service for CBS Television. Networks, program sponsors and studios often used either ad or publicity agencies to distribute publicity material. The Bureau was widely used for this purpose by those in the industry and it was a division of ad agency Young & Rubicam. · Public domain
