Seeing a poll taking place for the best movies of 1944,I decided to view every French film from the year,that is currently available with English Subtitles. Having found Julien Duvivier's take on the character in A Man's Head (1933-also reviewed) to be superb,and the trio of titles I've seen by the film maker to be thrilling,I got set to once again meet Maigret.
View on the film:
Handling the case after making the magnificent Horror Carnival of Sinners (1943-also reviewed) auteur director Maurice Tourneur brings his grip on the macabre to the striking murder victim set-pieces, where Tourneur & Fantastic Night (1942-also reviewed) cinematographer Pierre Montazel slither towards the corpses in long slow panning shots scanning each room for the dead.
Pulling open the warnings given by Cecile, Tourneur casts a refine Film Noir atmosphere from stylish,icy close-ups on Maigret cutting through the fog of wry smirks hiding the truth behind Cecile's death.
Solving Maigret's mystery during the Occupation, the screenplay by Jean-Paul Le Chanois and Michel Duran clearly slice into the paranoia of era in the characterisation of Cecile, who goes to discuss with Maigret about what she suspects are disturbing events taking place in her household, with a sinking fear of her future murderer listening with an ear to the wall for anything she says.
Although the unmasking over-eggs the resolution, the writers keep Maigret's head-turning deductions moving at a jaunty pace,with a surprisingly grisly sting to the way the victims are killed, pressing Maigret to take a look at the concerns the now-murdered Cecile raised!
Getting dismissed by everyone,Santa Relli gives a terrific turn as Cecile,whose infectious curiosity Relli uses to have Cecile poke shadows the police turn a blind-eye towards. Investigating the role for a second time,Albert Prejean gives a wonderful turn as Maigret, whose initial casualness to concerns raised are made by Prejean to become increasingly brittle,as Maigret discovers that Cecile is dead.
View on the film:
Handling the case after making the magnificent Horror Carnival of Sinners (1943-also reviewed) auteur director Maurice Tourneur brings his grip on the macabre to the striking murder victim set-pieces, where Tourneur & Fantastic Night (1942-also reviewed) cinematographer Pierre Montazel slither towards the corpses in long slow panning shots scanning each room for the dead.
Pulling open the warnings given by Cecile, Tourneur casts a refine Film Noir atmosphere from stylish,icy close-ups on Maigret cutting through the fog of wry smirks hiding the truth behind Cecile's death.
Solving Maigret's mystery during the Occupation, the screenplay by Jean-Paul Le Chanois and Michel Duran clearly slice into the paranoia of era in the characterisation of Cecile, who goes to discuss with Maigret about what she suspects are disturbing events taking place in her household, with a sinking fear of her future murderer listening with an ear to the wall for anything she says.
Although the unmasking over-eggs the resolution, the writers keep Maigret's head-turning deductions moving at a jaunty pace,with a surprisingly grisly sting to the way the victims are killed, pressing Maigret to take a look at the concerns the now-murdered Cecile raised!
Getting dismissed by everyone,Santa Relli gives a terrific turn as Cecile,whose infectious curiosity Relli uses to have Cecile poke shadows the police turn a blind-eye towards. Investigating the role for a second time,Albert Prejean gives a wonderful turn as Maigret, whose initial casualness to concerns raised are made by Prejean to become increasingly brittle,as Maigret discovers that Cecile is dead.