La tête d'un homme

Director Julien Duvivier pulls all the stops in this Georges Simenon crime story with a dazzling display of film language and a pair of two intense performances years ahead of their time in A Man's Head. Accessing all the tools at his disposal Duvivier presents us with one very stylish mystery with some very taut moments.

Gaston Jaquet (Willy Feriere) is a near do well aristocratic poser with a greedy girlfriend (Gena Manes) who has the opportunity to off a rich relative in Versailles. They see it through and then are blackmailed by the killer (Valery Inkijinoff) who frames someone else (Alexandre Rigneault). Enter famed inspector Maigret (Harry Baur) to solve matters.

Whether it his famed close-ups or crowded canvases, Duvivier emphasizes form over content with some bravura editing and tight compositions that not only flesh out a drama but a period as well. His camera constantly on the move, his transitions varied, he gives the film a vitality and pace that never wavers.

As desperate characters Manes and Rigneault are excellent, Inkijinoff incredible in moments while Baur contributes a nice, nonplussed rumpled Maigret.

Such was the popularity of Georges Simenon's Maigret, an indefatigable literary detective who first appeared in print in 1931, that in the span of less than a year three unconnected films were made of his adventures. The first was Jean Renoir's "Night at the Crossroads", the second Jean Tarride's "The Yellow Dog", and the third Julien Duvivier's "A Man's Neck". Of the three, Duvivier's is the absolute best without any doubt. Where "Night at the Crossroads" was disorientating and lacking in continuity, "A Man's Neck" presents its plot with laser-like precision and determination. Where "The Yellow Dog" was cheap and stagey, "A Man's Neck" is artful and atmospheric, modern and expressionistic.

The film begins with a mysterious note found in the pocket of Willy Ferrière (Gaston Jacquet), a penniless scoundrel who likes to live large with his fiancée Edna (Gina Manès). "We will get rid of your Aunt Henderson for 100,000 francs. Send address, key, and floor plan to M. V., general delivery, Boulevard Raspail." Even though not a killer himself, Willy can't resist the urge to go from heir apparent to heir in fact. So, he accepts the offer and very soon the deed is done. Old aunt Henderson is found dead, Willy and Edna are rich at last, and, best of all, the killer, a dim low-life by the name of Heurtin (Alexandre Rignault) has been apprehended. But, what Willy does not know is that he has signed the deal with the devil.

The devil, in this case, being Radek (Valéry Inkijinoff), a terminally ill, nihilistic sociopath who is the true killer of aunt Henderson. Not troubled by such petty things as morals or conscience, he framed the poor Heurtin and is now out to get Willy and Edna. Being that he'll be dead in six months, the money is of no use to him. He wants to play a game. Feel the thrill of the chase. Destroy a man's life and watch him flap about like a fish in the shards of his aquarium trying to put it back together.

And it's not just Willy he'll be toying with. Not content with Heurtin taking all the credit, wanting his perfect murder to be known, he begins a game with the police. Intentionally attracting the attention of Commissaire Maigret (Harry Baur) by his inordinate spending, he starts a battle of nerves with him the kind of which would make the "Columbo" series a huge hit almost 40 years later. The two men, however, are evenly matched as Maigret has more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

And it's not just the plot that seems to be ahead of its time. Comparing the film to the previous two Maigret adaptations it looks as if it had been made 10 years later. Duvivier not only doesn't fall into any of the common traps of early talkies, he utterly subverts them. Unlike most of the films of the era which tended to appear stagey and stilted with awkward dialogue scenes and overused wide shots, "A Man's Neck" is vivacious and atmospheric, featuring several excitingly expressionistic scenes and some really clever and inventive use of sound.

Look at the moody sequence, for instance, of Heurtin stumbling upon the corpse of Mrs Henderson. Shot from high angles and enveloped by long, pronounced shadows it resembles a scene from a Fritz Lang film. Extreme close-ups of shocked, terrified faces and the wild eyes of Valéry Inkijinoff abound as well, none of which would seem out of place in a Mabuse movie. Lang's "M" had only been released in France a year before and Duvivier had clearly been taking notes.

Other memorable scenes include wonderful use of sound. For instance, the aforementioned scene of Heurtin's discovery of the body is accompanied only by the sound of his heavy, anxious breathing. His escape from the police is similarly scored by the barking of dogs which continue to echo in his ears. Also effective is the use of a song being sung by a woman who lives next door to Radek. A song that comes to signify his yearning for normal life and all the beauty no longer available to him due to his illness.

At other times, Duvivier uses sound to achieve a sense of almost documentarian realism. A great scene at a police station briefing is underscored by a murmur of a bunch of cops complaining, talking about their wives, and cracking dirty jokes. The scene uncannily resembles the opening scenes of every episode of "Hill Street Blues" and gives "A Man's Neck" an unexpected atmosphere of realism.

Finally, Duvivier also uses some clever back-projection tricks throughout the film using it first to portray the plodding police investigation and then to shoot one of the most nightmarish foot chases I've ever seen on film.

The casting is absolutely pitch-perfect especially that of Valéry Inkijinoff. With his sly, wide-open eyes, untamable hair, and his Buryat features, he is absolutely magnetic on-screen displaying an indomitable intensity the kind of which would become a trademark of actors like Gary Busey and Christopher Walken.

Harry Baur makes for a superb Maigret. Serene and unflappable but with a mischievous gleam in his eye. The scenes between him and Inkijinoff are the high point of the film, especially an almost silent scene in which they sit and listen to Radek's neighbour sing. A temporary truce between two formidable opponents engaged in a deadly battle of nerves.

The rest of the cast impress as well with Gaston Jacquet as a suitably oily coward, Gina Manès as a temptress short on morals, and Alexandre Rignault as a helpless stooge caught up in other people's game. Utterly shockingly, even Henri Échourin's comic relief is not as grating as they usually are. He's actually quite endearing and his developing relationship with Maigret provides the heart of the film.

Ahead of its time, exciting, atmospheric, tension-filled, and above all endlessly entertaining, "A Man's Neck" is not only the best cinematic adaptation of a Maigret novel, it is easily one of the finest thrillers ever made. Julien Duvivier's expressionistic direction, Valéry Inkijinoff's complex and compelling performance, and a superb plot from Georges Simenon have perfectly conspired to make it that.

Prolific Belgian novelist Georges Simenon introduced Inspector Jules Maigret to the world in 1931. Film makers were quick to spot the potential but Simenon was deeply disappointed with the first two adaptations, one of which, 'Nuit au Carrefour' was directed by Jean Renoir with his brother Pierre as Maigret. Simenon was perfectly happy for Renoir to reprise the role in the proposed film of his 'Battle of Nerves' but Simenon himself wanted to direct! Unsurpisingly this idea was knocked on the head. Simenon and Renoir were out and in came Julien Duvivier and Harry Baur who had already made three films together. The title was changed to 'A Man's Head.'

From the opening shot of Madame la Guillotine one is gripped. Duvivier has used this story as a means of conveying his bleak view of the human condition. No adaptation of Maigret, to my knowledge, has succeeded so well in capturing the seediness of demi-monde Montmartre where morally ambiguous characters exist as best they can. This is Film Noir in all but name. The director is aided in this by the art direction of Georges Wakhevitch, for some reason 'uncredited' and his preferred cinematographer at the time Armand Thirard. There is also an inspired use of the voice of chanteuse Damia whose songs are redolent of loss.

Some have criticised the film for making the Maigret of Harry Baur a secondary character to the murderer Radek of Valery Inkijinoff. This is however reminiscent of the relationship between Inspector Porfiry Petrovich and Raskolnikov in 'Crime and Punishment' and is just as effective. As in Dostoevsky's masterpiece all that Maigret has to do is to bide his time and give Radek enough rope. Ironically Bauer was to play Porfiry for Pierre Chenal in 1935.

Inkijinoff excels in the challenging and psychologically complex role of a man under sentence of death from Tuberculosis who has nothing to lose by killing for money and then blackmailing the man who hired him. His one grip on life comes in the shape of his unrequited passion for the Edna of Gina Manes. After a while however his character becomes rather tiresome and one longs for him to be put out of his misery. Mlle Manes, although not a conventional beauty, has sexual charisma in spades and Duvivier has made wonderful use of her eyes, by turns seductive and cunning.

There are two masters at work here. Duvivier, a master of film-making and Bauer, a master of film acting. French cinema has always been more about character than plot and here director and cast are in their element.

Heaven only knows what Simenon thought of the remake 'Man on the Eiffel Tower' but by then he was probably too rich to care. The film lacks a strong hand at the helm and Charles Laughton's idiosyncratic performance as Maigret lacks depth.

Apparently, for reasons best known to himself, Simenon's personal preference in the role was for Rupert Davies!!!!

I am a passionate Maigret enthusiast, and it was a disappointment to see the weak and charmless film that Duvivier made of one of Simenon's better novels. Harry Baur acts as though he couldn't care less about the story or his part, while Gina Manes as the cheap gold-digging mistress of a homicidal wastrel gives a very bland performance. The only spirit in the whole show comes from Valery Inkijinoff as the terminally ill killer Radek, a man who has plenty of reasons to live it up, since he's living on borrowed time. Some fine camerawork from Armand Thirard does not make this film worth seeing.

...but not as good as "Panique" !There are several good sequences but by and large ,the movie lacks focus,intensity,unity.It's like an orchestra where the musicians play different tunes.Valery Inkijinoff,for instance gives an intense portrayal of this terminally ill man who has got nothing to lose,and Alexandre Rignault is equally good as the poor idiot caught into a trap he does not understand.The couple ,on the other hand,has no real presence and is in direct contrast to their two accomplices.Harry Baur is a not very good Maigret.You'd better see him in Duvivier's "Poil de Carotte" and "David Golder".

But there are impressive scenes:the idiot entering the house and discovering the murder;all the sequences that feature Inkijinoff; the final scenes ,which,although they lack mastery ,predate the terrifying conclusion of "Voici le temps des assassins" :no room for a happy end! The 1930-1935 ,in spite of successful flicks such as "Poil de Carotte" and "David Golder",was an experimental time for Duvivier.Hit-and-miss best describes his art which would come into full bloom in the second half of the thirties,and continue (whether the Nouvelle Vague buffs like it or not) through the forties and fifties.