The story of Marie Lafarge got the cinematic treatment in 1938 with the release of the film "L'Affaire Lafarge", directed by Pierre Chenal, with Marcelle Chantal as Marie and Pierre Renoir as Charles. The film itself is notable for being the first French film to use flashbacks as a narrative device. Of course, as with the real-life case, the film was not free from controversy, as the grand-niece of Charles Lafarge sued the film's producers for defaming the memory of her great-uncle.