In Rome, we see Philippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet) and Tom Ripley (Alain Delon) at a cafe table together; Tom is writing postcards. They chat about Philippe's girlfriend Marge, who he is having trouble with. Philippe gets up when he sees his friend Freddy (Billy Kearns) and invites him to join them. When Tom is away at a bookstore Philippe tells Freddy that Tom has admitted that it was Philippe's father who had Tom go to Italy to bring Philippe home to America with the promise of a handsome reward. Philippe has no intention of going. Freddy is uneasy about Tom and soon leaves; Philippe has Tom pick up their tab. As they walk down the street Philippe bumps into a blind man. He gives him money, then on Tom's suggestion buys the blind man's cane and gives him money for the taxi home. When Philippe pretends to be blind and stumbles into a car, a young woman takes pity on him and guides him across the street, and she ends up spending the evening with both men in a horse carriage, only later discovering that Philippe is not blind. Full of laughter, she buys the cane and has the carriage stop so she can try walking like a blind woman; she asks them to wait for her, but they instead proceed to a night club. Meanwhile Tom has seen fit to steal some of the lady's jewelry. Next, Philippe and Tom arrive by boat in the coastal town of Mongibello, where Philippe lives. At a local ballet company pre-premiere nerves are on; we see Philippe and Tom bring back a drunken man, O'Brien (Frank Latimore), the company director. Then they pay a visit to the guitar-playing, Fra Angelico-studying Marge (Marie Laforêt), who is upset with Philippe for leaving town for several days. They soon make up on the sofa, while Tom goes to the next room, discovers some of Philippe's clothes and puts them on. He looks into the mirror and pretends to be Philippe, but is interrupted by Philippe at the door. Later when Philippe is on his way to the bank for a cash withdrawal, Tom comes to him with a letter from Philippe's father, who is disappointed that Philippe does not seem intent on returning home and consequently discontinues his financial arrangement with Tom. Tom seems haunted and begs Philippe to go to San Francisco so he can get his hands on his father's money. Philippe, Marge and Tom go on a sail boat to join Freddy at Taormina. It's high summer, the sun is hot and the ocean is blue. During a meal Tom talks about how he used to adore Philippe when they were kids, and how Philippe's father didn't want them to be together because Tom wasn't of good enough family. Philippe sends Tom to the steering wheel while he and Marge have some time alone, but Tom overhears Philippe saying to Marge that he is not fond of Tom and that they will soon leave him behind so they can be alone. Tom is upset and deliberately makes the boat shake. Philippe comes up and, faking concern for the boat, tricks Tom into the safety boat, which he lets float after the ship, and retires to the cabin. But the rope breaks, and Tom drifts off. When Philippe discovers this he sets out to find Tom, and he and Marge bring the sunburned Tom aboard again. When Marge blames Philippe for treating his friend in this way he says that in fact he and Tom never spent their childhood together. When Philippe looks for a shirt among Tom's things he discovers some of his own bank statements hidden, though he keeps his discovery from Marge. Marge asks Tom to leave them behind and go home when they reach land. One night, we see Tom hide the earrings he stole earlier in the pocket of some of Philippe's clothes. The next day the two men have a conversation about the bank statements, and Philippe guesses that it might have been Tom's intention to pretend to be Philippe and claim his money as his own. Philippe and Marge have a row involving the earrings Marge has found among Philippe's clothes, and when Philippe tosses her Fra Angelico writings into the ocean she demands to be set ashore. Philippe and Tom continue alone. They continue their conversation about the bank statements, and Tom details how he would have killed Philippe to claim his money, and admits that he planted the jewelry. Philippe is repulsed and fascinated by Tom's behaviour. The two men play a hand of poker; Philippe wagers money, Tom the pocket watch Philippe's father gave him. When Tom discovers that Philippe tries to cheat in order to lose, Tom is upset. He says a few thousand dollars is no longer enough when he might have it all. He decides the game in Philippe's favour and stabs him in the chest as Philippe screams, "Marge". Tom Ripley must struggle with the boat against the wind, but he covers Philippe's body in a sack, then ties it to the anchor and dumps it. He accidentally falls in himself, but struggles back onto the boat and steers the boat to harbour in Mongibello. He goes to visit Marge, claiming that Philippe does not want to see her again. He collects some of Philippe's items from the house and from the boat. Claiming to be Mr. Greenleaf he goes to a boating agency to sell the boat, then leaves for Rome. There he buys equipment to fake a passport and learns how to convincingly fake Philippe's signature. He speaks to Marge on the phone, successfully convincing her that she is speaking to Philippe. He types Marge a letter and brings it personally to Marge. She takes him with her to Naples to show him the city. While she writes a letter to Philippe at a cafe, he takes a walk and looks at the market stalls. Back at Tom's hotel in Rome, he must escape notice from Madame Popova (Elvire Popesco), who knows Philippe from Mongibello; he soon gets an apartment for himself. Philippe's friend Freddy comes to visit after learning about the address and is suspicious when he finds Tom there wearing Philippe's clothes. Tom comes to see Freddy as a threat to his secret and gives him a fatal blow with an antique statuette. At night when the building is quiet he carries the body down the stairs and into the street where his car is waiting to help him dump the body. Soon after he is about to leave the apartment behind when the police come by; he narrowly escapes in a taxi. He goes straight to the bank to withdraw a large sum from Philippe's account, then telephones the apartment identifying himself to the police as Tom Ripley and desiring to speak to Philippe. A police officer, Riccordi (Erno Crisa), comes to Tom's pension to question him about the murder in which Mr. Greenleaf is a suspect, but Tom is, of course, unable to help. The next day Tom is present at the morgue to identify Freddy's body, along with Marge and others. They go to a restaurant and discuss Philippe's whereabouts, though they all believe him to be innocent. While at the table, Tom almost slips up when he quotes one of the letters Marge has written to Philippe, but he comes up with a lie and says that he met with Philippe the day before, and that Philippe is now in Mongibello. As soon as he can Tom travels to Mongibello to make it appear as if Philippe has been there and left a suicide note, the money Tom withdrew and a will leaving all the money to Marge. He leaves the house through a window just as Marge enters with the police. Back in Rome the next morning, Riccordi comes to Tom's pension room to ask him questions and reveal certain suspicions, but without result. Next, Tom is back in Mongibello, coinciding with a religious festival. He knocks on Marge's door, but there is no answer, and when he visits Mr. O'Brien and Madame Popova they tell him they have not seen her for weeks. The next morning Tom finds a way into the house and finds Marge still in mourning over Philippe's death. He tries to convince her that Philippe did not truly love her. He announces that he will return to America and kisses her goodbye, but she stops him and asks him to stay. He has her play the guitar for him, and we see the two in bed together. One day soon after, Tom and Marge go swimming. Philippe's father comes to town to meet Marge and sell Philippe's boat. Tom stays by the beach while Marge goes to meet him. When they investigate the boat, they discover that from a rope tangled in the engine hangs the rotten corpse of Philippe Greenleaf. The police come to the beachside cafe and have the waitress call Tom Ripley to the telephone. As Tom goes to take the call, he smiles to himself.
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