Panik

Returning to France after spending the war in Hollywood, Duvivier bravely tackled this Simenon story about a persecuted (Jewish) outsider accused of a crime he did not commit. The idea of scapegoating, of minorities being denounced to the authorities, must have been a sensitive one in France just after the occupation. The protagonist, Monsieur Hire, is played by the great Michel Simon (why do boxers make great actors?), and the lovers who frame him are physically attractve yet morally repellant. The suspense at the end will mess you up. There's a gorgeous love scene before a church in the snow. The resolution has the same sense of bleak irony as LES DIABOLIQUES - evil triumphs, then is punished. A bit like World War Two?

Although sound and picture quality are abysmal, as in a lot of French films from the 1940's, I do enjoy watching this film for its acting and also for the message it delivers. A murder has been committed in a sector of Paris and all eyes are drawn towards a solitary old gentleman, a slightly eccentric person living in the neighbourhood who had had some contact with the murdered girl (but who is not her murderer). The main object of the film is not "who dunnit" but rather that of painting a portrait of human nature as portrayed by local residents in their attitude of designating Mr Hire, as the man is named as being the obvious guilty party. One can not but have symapthy with the poor old gentleman who is sweet as a church mouse but who, it is true, does have some eccentric habits. Basically speaking, he who is different from the mass is vilipended by that mass at the first opportunity. Thankfully in the end, the real murderer is found, but meanwhile, Mr Hire's character has been blackened ! A remake of the film was made in the 1990's under the title "Monsieur Hire". The original Monsieur Hire was played in 1946 by the great Michel Simon ( an actor whom I adore ). The Monsieur Hire of the 1990's was played by Michel Blanc, more known for comic or semi-comic roles but who nevertheless delivers an excellent performance for this role !

Julien Duvivier was a very capable director who left some fine films--Carnet de bal is one of my favourites, and La belle equipe is a pleasure--but I never thought of him as the equal of Renoir, Clair or Carne. Panique is a solid work that satisfies us; the performances rise to greatness with Simon and Bernard, and the mise-en-scene is very assured. The only cavil I have is with the crowd scenes: they are just not very interesting and do not increase our involvement with the story. Simenon's novel is a character study, not a work of sociology; we don't need to know what the crowd wants.

Michel Simon was a great actor and here he's at his peak. Dryly humorous, love-struck, violent and tough, it's a memorable performance. Viviane Romance was the great vamp of French pre- and post war film, and she gives a lot of vitality to Alice, the girl who gives herself completely to the worthless Alfred. Max Dalban as the bigoted butcher has some very effective scenes. Finally Paul Bernard is splendid as the thuggish Alfred. He made Madeleine Renaud's life miserable in Lumiere d'ete, he dumped Maria Casares in Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (and was paid back royally for his stupidity): truly, Bernard was one of the great stars of the time.

With an interesting story and some good suspense, this mystery/thriller works pretty well despite a lack of any particularly appealing characters. At the beginning, it sets up a complicated situation, and builds at a good pace to lead up to a tense finale. It has quite a low-budget look to it, but with a story of this kind, sometimes that actually fits in rather well.

There is a lot going on right from the beginning. In a neighborhood where a murder has just been committed, there is a young woman coming home from prison, seeking out the lover for whom she took the blame. There is also an unpopular and eccentric resident whom no one can figure out. These and other characters soon get involved in a lengthy cat-and-mouse game that keeps things interesting the rest of the way. It would be even more compelling if at least some of the characters were a little easier to sympathize with, but the story itself is enough to hold your attention. One slight drawback - not a fault of the original film-makers - is that the titles (at least on the English version that seems to be available) are very light and often hard to read, so you miss a few things, unless by chance your French is sharp enough to catch everything.

Overall, it's above average for its genre. If you enjoy film noir or older thrillers, and don't mind a low-budget style, this one should be worth a look.

Quick note for context: I'm writing this review in 2021, a full 75 years since this film was made. On this morning the news headlines scream of lynchings & mob violence in Israel/Palestine as well as pandemic-fueled hate crimes in the USA and gawd knows what else because I really need to shut off the news and go back to watching the Teletubbies.

"Panique" is a magnificently shot, suspensefully told, expertly acted, and powerfully poignant tale about the absolute folly of the human race. Brought to us by master director Julien Duvivier, France's favorite cynic, it's a merciless caricature of humankind which was doubtlessly inspired by the postwar paranoia and righteous rage of the time--itself a vigilante backlash to the insanity of fascism that had dunked Europe into its darkest decade.

That's a mouthful, but if you're going to watch this movie, it's pretty important to realize that the story isn't so much a straightforward crime thriller as much as it's a dark fable, a grotesque portrait of humanity at its worst. Almost every character is detestable, with the fascinating exception of our protagonist "Hire" whom we initially dislike for his coldness but who gradually becomes one of the most endearing & charming characters since Quasimodo. Major props to lead actor Michel Simon for his nuanced performance which leads us through this transformation in our own minds.

Plot overview: Hire is an outsider in his own world. Nobody likes him because he's so distant, unapproachable and worst of all, intelligent. Then one day a beautiful woman rolls into town, the mistress of a criminal who's hiding out there. Hire falls for this dark haired beauty, and as you might guess, this gets him into deep bouillabaisse.

What we get next is a slow, relentless buildup of the plight of the lone individual vs the entire human race. One can't help but feel as if this film is Duvivier's greatest autobiographical work, expressing in no uncertain terms how disappointed he was at society for its less-than-kind reception of his works and himself (Duviver was at one point accused of being a traitor for escaping to the USA during the Nazi occupation). This film begins innocently enough but slowly reels us into one of the most cynical portrayals of human society since Night of the Living Dead. But what keeps this flick entertaining rather than outright depressing is the darkly humorous way in which it's presented. For example:

One scene shows a carnival attraction in a cramped tent: a bunch of female wrestlers preparing to pummel each other for a packed audience's thrill. Over the din of the crowd, someone yells to someone else, "They found the murderer!" to which someone else shouts "What? There's a murderer in here?!" to which someone else shouts "A fire! There's a fire!" to which the whole crowd erupts in "FIRE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

This is just one example of Duvivier's many satirical skewerings of society's idiocy and mob mentality. Images, faces and lighting are wonderfully exaggerated. As you're watching this film, the name Hitchcock will cross your mind dozens of times, but make note that this film was made in 1946 predating many of Hitchcock's masterpieces. You can't help but wonder if the master Hitch himself lifted a few tools from Duvivier's toolbox which he would use in films like "Strangers on a Train" (the carnival scenes), "Rear Window" (the impotent voyeur), and "Vertigo" (a stunning climactic scene which I won't spoil).

"Panique" is sure to burn an imprint on your mind. You definitely don't need to be following this with cable news. Now if I can only find my nephew's Teletubbies DVDs all will be well in the world.