François, a young man recovering from an illness (probably tuberculosis), returns to his home town of Sardent after a long absence to spend the winter there.

Serge had hoped to leave the village to study, but had to stay to marry a local girl, Yvonne, when she became pregnant.

Glomaud calls witnesses to attest to François’ statement, then stumbles off to rape Marie, whom he has reputedly lusted after for three years.

The villagers watch, exhorting Serge to “teach the Parisian a lesson.” The local priest advises him to leave, and he is probably doing more harm than good.

Le Beau Serge was filmed in Sardent, where Chabrol, whose mother was from the village, often spent childhood summers with his grandmother and lived during the war years.

It was shot over a period of nine weeks in the winter of 1957-8 on a budget of 32 million old French francs,[1] which Chabrol acquired courtesy of an inheritance his first wife had received.

To reduce the running time, Chabrol cut a great deal of quasi-documentary material, a decision he later regretted.