Frequent Death

1988 French film

30 March 1988 (1988-03-30)

Running time

103 minutesCountryFranceLanguageFrenchBox office$3.6 million^[2]

Frequent Death (original title: Fréquence meurtre) is a 1988 French crime film directed by Élisabeth Rappeneau. It is based on Stuart M. Kaminsky's 1983 novel When the Dark Man Calls.^[3]^[4]

Plot

Jeanne Quester is a single mother. As a certified psychologist, she works two jobs. During daytime she does social work, but at night she is a radio personality who provides live advice for needy callers. Due to the success of her radio show, she receives the offer to work for TV.

Suddenly she is menaced by alienating, enigmatic calls whenever she is on air. Moreover, a stranger manages to secretly access her flat and when Jeanne returns there, she finds her daughter's parrot killed. Later, she discovers somebody has attacked her car. Jeanne turns to her brother Frank, who is a policeman. Frank finds out that the convicted murderer of their parents was released just recently. Jeanne is afraid the murderer is out for vengeance.

Eventually she finds the alleged murderer himself brutally killed in her flat. Even so, the more and more openly threatening calls continue and finally her daughter gets kidnapped by the mysterious caller. Jeanne meets the kidnapper who turns out being the real murderer of her parents. He discloses his identity and tells her what really happened back then. When Jeanne can't comply with his demands, he decides to kill her.

Cast

Catherine Deneuve as Jeanne Quester
André Dussollier as Frank Quester
Martin Lamotte as Simon Lieberman
Étienne Chicot as Roger
Inès Claye as Pauline
Madeleine Marie as Ida Faber
Philippe Lehembre as Faber
Daniel Rialet as Fred Bastin
Alain Stern as MacGregor
Martine Chevallier as Marie
Annie Mercier as Madame Fremont

References

^ "Stuart M. Kaminsky Source Material (from novel) ( When the Dark Man Calls )". Yahoo. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
^ "Fréquence meurtre (1988) - JPBox-Office".
^ Carlson, Michael (2009-10-28). "Stuart Kaminsky obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2012-12-22. When the Dark Man Calls (1983) became the French film Fréquence Meurtre (1988), starring Catherine Deneuve....
^ Pierce, J. Kingston. "Murder Is His Business". January Magazine. Retrieved 2012-12-22. There were two versions of When the Dark Man Calls. One starred Catherine Deneuve and was made in France.