French crime drama from director Julien Duvivier, based on a novel by Georges Simenon starrs Harry Baur as police Chief Inspector Maigret who's leading the investigation of the murder of a wealthy old woman stabbed in her home. The case leads to creepy, terminally-ill medical student Radek (Valery Inkijinoff) who sees this as his chance to a leave a mark on the world.
I was impressed by the odd-looking Inkijinoff, even if his character doesn't always quite make sense. Director Duvivier utilizes a number of novel cinematic techniques, such as, instead of having an investigator move from location to location, he is shown addressing people on a projected screen, with the projection changing locations. It's a disconcerting way of showing location changes. This was an interesting police film, a bit ahead of its time, and any chance to see Baur is worth taking.
I was impressed by the odd-looking Inkijinoff, even if his character doesn't always quite make sense. Director Duvivier utilizes a number of novel cinematic techniques, such as, instead of having an investigator move from location to location, he is shown addressing people on a projected screen, with the projection changing locations. It's a disconcerting way of showing location changes. This was an interesting police film, a bit ahead of its time, and any chance to see Baur is worth taking.