François Truffaut's La Peau Douce | The Soft Skin (1964)

I'm not too sure how many films Truffaut made with femmes fatales in them – and L'Homme qui aimait les femmes (1977) must certainly be included as a collection of such women – but there must be a fair number, and La Peau douce is definitely in that number. As an example of a triangular love relationship ending fatally, it reminded me more of La Femme d'à côté (1881) than its slightly earlier Jules et Jim (1962).

A successful writer who has just written a book on Balzac and money and is on a promotion tour, Pierre Lachenay (Jean Desailly) meets air hostess Nicole (Françoise Dorléac) on his way to Lisbon and that's it. Of course his wife Franca (Nelly Benedetti) and his young daughter Sabine (Sabine Haudepin, who also played in Jules et Jim ) know nothing of it, at least not yet. And so the series of lies to everyone begins.

Pierre has taken a number of photos of Nicole, plus some of them together, and left the photo shop receipt in his pocket. Meanwhile Nicole has refused to live with Pierre, so it's the end of the story. But not for Sabine, who knows he's now at a regular restaurant, and goes to meet him with a rifle. Bang.