The macabre ale, that became increasingly unpleasant to watch, was about the mental deterioration into schizophrenia of beautiful, timid, vulnerable and paranoid young 18 year-old blonde manicurist Carol Ledoux (21 year-old Catherine Deneuve) from Belgium, who lived in a claustrophic London apartment with her older sister.The plot twisting, witty, and suspenseful film (similar to Hitchcock""sThe 39 Steps (1935),To Catch a Thief (1955),North by Northwest (1959), and the entries in theJames Bondseries), shot on sets and on-location in Paris, is a sophisticated, yet off-balanced combination of thrills and comedy from screenwriter Peter Stone""s first film screenplay.On board the vessel was another band of competing treasure-seekers, three American cowboys: Henderson (Stephen Dunham), Daniels (Corey Johnson), and Burns (Tuc Watkins), and their leader, famed Egyptologist Dr.Louis World""s Fair/Exposition.Each segment marks changes and rites of passage - and is introduced by a filigreed tintype from the Smith family album - each static, initially sepia-toned image turns into color and comes to life.Behind the throne was a wall mural of religious icons (martyrs or saints), each with halos, and placed above and next to the throne were clusters of candelabras.