With the film Les Parents Terribles Jean Cocteau discovered a whole new public. By 1948 Yvonne de Bray had become more temperate in her habits, and Cocteau could now cast her as the domineering mother. Jean Marais, Marcel André, and Gabrielle Dorziat, all from the original theatrical production, were joined by Josette Day as the sweetheart. Jean Marais succeeded in disguising the fact that by 1948 he was a bit mature for the part of the son. The team worked well together, and the screenplay remained so faithful to the original, with its suffocating two-room set and tangled web of family romance, that the film enjoyed a success even greater than that of the play.

For Les Parents Terribles, Cocteau had the help of two other perennial colleagues: Christian Bérard as artistic director and Georges Auric as composer. The film is generally considered to be Cocteau's best from a technical point of view.