abstract:Le Silence de la mer (The Silence of the Sea) is a 1949 film by Jean-Pierre Melville that takes place in 1941 and concerns a Frenchman ([Robain]) and his niece (Nicole Stéphane),'s relationship with a German lieutenant von Ebrennac (Howard Vernon), who lives in their house during the German occupation of France. Melville based the film on the 1942 book of the same name, Le Silence de la mer by Jean Bruller (under the name Vercors) and actually filmed inside of Vercors' own home outside of Paris.