The plot concerns two disciples of the devil, Gilles and Dominique (Alain Cuny and Arletty), in the Middle Ages. They aim to destroy the relationships of some humans, probably because they are bored and have nothing better to do, but mostly at the devil's whim. It appears they have blood contracts with the devil so can't escape their plight. They play the part of traveling minstrels, sent to the castle of a widowed Baron (Fernand Ledoux) whose daughter, Anne (Marie Dea), is engaged to be married to Renaud. Renaud (Marcel Herrand) seems to value Anne only as a thing to be conquered, so when Gilles sings mournful love songs at a pre-wedding banquet, Anne can't help but be drawn to him instead. In a sequence where Dominique stops time (she's actually a woman who masquerades as Gilles' brother/minstrel partner), she and Gilles take Renaud and Anne out to the garden where each seduces their respective prey. Later Dominique also plays up the Baron, revealing to each of her men that she is really a woman.
The lustful Renaud as expected takes to Dominique quite readily, and doesn't even want to be reminded he has a wedding soon. The Baron though, still faithful to the memory of his dead wife, finally allows himself to succumb to Dominique's charms and feels protective of her. Anne and Gilles' relationship is more serious, as Gilles really does fall in love with Anne. Then the devil himself appears (Jules Berry) in the guise of a lord seeking shelter from a storm, creating machinations so that Gilles and Anne are caught together, thus sentencing Gilles to death. Meanwhile, both the Baron and Renaud duel over Dominique. Anne promises to marry the devil if he will release Gilles from his blood contract.
This basic plot is a pretty standard "devil's agreement" sort of plot, it just doesn't make the devil's powers very convincing as at the end Anne dupes him and is able to keep Gilles with her, although as in a storybook way they are both turned to stone. The plot with the Baron/Renaud also is not realized very strongly, but we can see that Dominique's temperament is more suited to the devil's work that Gilles' temperament. She plays up each man's desire, pitting them against each other, although for the Baron it is probably more sincere than for Renaud. In essence this is a true-love-conquers-all finale.
Filmed in black and white, and while Germany occupied France during WW2 which is probably its biggest draw to curious modern audiences, the special features show the production had a hard time making this film during wartime with limited resources and censorship/travel restrictions. Nice costumes and simple sets/scenery are in keeping to the script which is not overly flowerly, despite Jules Berry's campy performance as the devil.
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