The Wages of Fear

novel by Arnaud

Also known as: “Le Salaire de la peur”

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July 15, 2026

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The Wages of Fear is a 1950 novel by Georges Arnaud that was later adapted into a highly acclaimed 1953 French film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. The story follows four desperate men, transplanted Europeans living in South America, who are offered a large sum of money to transport highly volatile nitroglycerin to an oil well fire. The perilous journey across treacherous terrain tests their courage, friendship, and nerves. The novel sold approximately two million copies globally and is considered a seminal work in French cinema.

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Georges Arnaud
…salaire de la peur (1950; The Wages of Fear), a story about truck drivers who carried loads of nitroglycerine across treacherous mountain terrain in South America. The novel sold an estimated two million copies worldwide and inspired a suspenseful motion picture of the same name which was released in 1953.
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…salaire de la peur (1950; The Wages of Fear), a story about truck drivers who carried loads of nitroglycerine across treacherous mountain terrain in South America. The novel sold an estimated two million copies worldwide and inspired a suspenseful motion picture of the same name which was released in 1953.
Read More