Together with Diabolique, The Wages of Fear earned Henri-Georges Clouzot the reputation as a "French Hitchcock." The film is set in Central America. The Southern Oil Company, which pretty much rules the roost in the impoverished village of Las Piedras, sends out a call for long-distance truck drivers. Southern Oil's wages of $2,000 per man are, literally, to die for--the drivers are obliged to transport highly volatile nitroglycerine shipments across some of the most treacherous terrain on earth. The first half of the film slowly, methodically introduces the characters and their motivations. The second half--the drive itself--is a relentless, goosebump-inducing assault on the audience's senses. Wages won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival.--All Rovi. Admission is free. Sponsored by the Friends of the Cranford Public Library
