René Clément's taut thriller is a classic of the immediate postwar period; set in 1945, it recreates the frantic mood of Germany collapsing, and derives much of its dramatic tension from the French hatred of Nazis and collaborators. Henri Vidal and Paul Bernard star in the story of a group of influential Nazis, bound for South America in a submarine, who kidnap a French doctor. He engages his captors in intense psychological warfare. Henri Alekan's cinematography masterfully transcends the myriad problems posed by shooting in the exact replica of a submarine which Clément had built in the studio. Note: The first 7 to 10 minutes of Les Maudits remains to be found. In this sequence, the high-ranking Nazis and European fascists board the U-boat at a secret North Sea harbor. A depth bomb hits the vessel, injuring the wife of an Italian industrialist and forcing the stop along the coast of France to pick up the doctor.