La Main à couper (1974)
Directed by Etienne Périer

Film Synopsis

Hélène Noblet lives a peaceful existence with her husband Georges, a respected doctor, and their two children, Daniel and Nadine.  They own a beautiful house in Neuilly and Hélène successfully manages an antique shop.  Bored with her routine existence, Hélène becomes the mistress of a younger man, Philippe, a friend of her son.  But when, one Tuesday, she goes to meet her lover at his studio she is shocked to find his dead body.  With details of the murder spilling across the front page of every newspaper, Daniel is forced to admit to Moureu, the police inspector in charge of the investigation, that he quarrelled with Philippe on the day of his death.  Hélène can hardly bear to watch as her son becomes the prime suspect in a murder case.  The situation worsens when she receives a visit from a stranger, Edouard Henricot.  Claiming that he witnessed her comings and goings at Philippe's apartment, Henricot demands 50 million francs as the price for his silence.  Hélène manages to obtain this amount by selling her jewels but she goes out of her mind when the money mysteriously disappears...