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No Exit is a 1944 existentialist play by Jean-Paul Sartre, originally published in French as Huis Clos (literally, In Camera). English translations have also been performed under the titles In Camera, No Way Out, and Dead End. Huis Clos was first performed at the Vieux-Colombier in May 1944, just before the liberation of Paris in World War II. ^[1]

The play features only four characters (one of whom, the Valet, appears for only a very limited time), and one set. No Exit is the source of perhaps Sartre's most famous quote, "Hell is other people." (In French, "l'enfer, c'est les autres"). It has been adapted in cinema many times, notably in 1954 by Jacqueline Audry.

The play begins with the Valet leading a man named Garçin into a room that the audience soon realizes is in hell (hell may be a gigantic hotel, in light of the "rooms and passages" mentioned in the play). The room has no windows, no mirrors, and only one door. Eventually Garçin is joined by a woman, Inès, and then another, Estelle. After their entry, the Valet leaves and the door is shut and locked. All expect to be tortured, but no torturer arrives. Instead, they realize they are there to torture each other, which they do effectively, by probing each other's sins, desires, and unpleasant memories. At first, the three see events concerning themselves that are happening on Earth, but eventually (as their connection to Earth dwindles and the living move on) they are left with only their own thoughts and the company of the other two. Near the end of the play, Garçin demands he be let out; at his words the door flies open, but he and the others refuse to leave.

Garçin – Garçin is the first character to whom the audience is introduced. He is a Brazilian whose sins are cowardice and callousness. He deserted the army during World War II, and he blatantly cheated on his wife - he even brings his affairs home and gets her to make them breakfast, without any sympathy. Initially, he hates Inès because she understands his weakness, and lusts after Estelle because he feels that if she treats him as a man he will become manly. However, by the end of the play he understands that because Inès understands the meaning of cowardice and wickedness, only absolution at her hands can redeem him (if indeed redemption is possible). He is constantly waiting for his physical torture to come, but this itself is torturous. He is condemned to wish for pain, which he feels will redeem his cowardly actions. In American adaptation of the play, the character's name is changed to Vincent Cradeau.

Inès – Inès is the second character to enter the room. A lesbian, her sin is turning a wife against her husband, twisting her perception of her spouse. Indeed, Inès seems to be the only character who understands the power of opinion, throughout the play manipulating Estelle's and Garçin's opinions of themselves and of each other. She is the only character who is honest about the evil deeds she, Garçin, and Estelle have done.

Estelle – Estelle is a high-society woman, a blonde who married her husband for his money and cuckolded him with a younger man. To her, the affair is merely an insignificant fling, whereas her lover becomes emotionally attached to her. She drowns the illegitimate child that results, which drives her lover to commit suicide. Throughout the play she makes advances towards Garçin, seeking to define herself as a woman in relation to a man. Her sins are deceit and murder (which also motivated a suicide).

Valet – The Valet enters the room with each character, but his only real dialog is with Garçin. It is never made clear in the play whether the Valet's job is his by choice, by birth, or as punishment. We do learn that his uncle is the head valet.

No Exit
Directed by	Tad Danielewski
Produced by	Fernando Ayala Héctor Olivera
Written by	Jean-Paul Sartre (play) George Tabori
Starring	Carlos Brown Elsa Dorian
Music by	Vladimir Ussachevsky
Cinematography	Ricardo Younis
Editing by	Jacques Bart Carl Lerner Atilio Rinaldi
Distributed by	Zenith International Films
Release date(s)	December 5, 1962
Running time	85 min.
Country	USA Argentina
Language	English
IMDb profile

• Huis clos (1954), directed by Jacqueline Audry.
• No Exit (1962), directed by Tad Danielewski.
• No Exit (2006), directed by Etienne Kallos.

• In "Friday the thirteenth IV: Jason Lives" One of the girl campers can be seen with an open copy of the play ontop of her as she sleeps.
• An episode of Futurama, "Hell is Other Robots," takes its title from the famous line "Hell is other people."
• An episode of The West Wing bears the name of the play. The episode portrays a lockdown of the White House, leaving many of the characters trapped together in pairs. In some cases this leads to unpleasant conversations, just as in the play.
• In an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ("Eleven Angry Jurors") where one of twelve jurors is murdered by one of the other eleven, Grissom is heard quoting Sartre.
• In the movie Puccini for Beginners the main character Allegra sits in a park on a bench and says: "It's hell being alone." Upon which a woman answers back: "No honey, hell is other people."
• In an episode of Recess, while pursuing the mysterious library girl, Gretchen directs the group to corner the girl in the Existentialism section because there is "No exit."

• Script and notes from New York University