Panique

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 !

Just as 'Voici les temps des assassins' is Julien Duvivier's best film of the fifties, this must surely be his finest of the forties. I would go so far as to say this is one of the greatest films made by any director in any decade. This adaptation by Charles Spaak of Georges Simenon's novel of 1933 differs slightly from the original novel in which Monsieur Hire is a petty crook of Jewish origin who is under police surveillance for the murder of a young prostitute. In this version he is a highly intelligent, bookish, unsociable loner. This of course makes him an obvious target for the petty, small-minded mediocrities who inhabit the town. Made so soon after the end of the German occupation this film is redolent of collaboration, denunciation and scapegoating. One of the most terrifying of lines is spoken by the loud mouthed, rabble-rousing butcher: 'If there is a black sheep in the flock you slaughter it'. Even by Michel Simon's standards his characterisation of the kind and tragically misunderstood Monsieur Hire is superlative and represents film acting at its very best. Viviane Romance and Paul Bernard excel as the utterly loathsome Alice and Alfred whose machinations cause his downfall. Technically the film is faultless with never a wasted shot and building to a thrilling climax. Mention must be made of Duvivier's preferred editor Marthe Poncin. Behind the camera is Nicholas Hayer who also shot that other masterpiece of mob misrule 'Le Corbeau'. Like Clouzot's film this is dark and deeply cynical and reflects Duvivier's own view 'that we are far from people who love each other'. If any film deserves full marks then it must surely be this.

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.

This is a pretty monumental film, impressing with clarity of picture, busyness of street action and immediacy of plot development right from the start. Indeed this, beautifully photographed film engages from the beginning and roars along from scene to scene and image to image to inform in the most economical of ways before gradually slowing down as the story deteriorates into something quite terrible. Viviane Romance plays the leading lady, who is anything but, with great style but is this true love? Or is this sheer greed or even true hatred that leads to such panic. The sad, suspenseful ending reminded me of Frankenstein's monster, Quasimodo and even poor old King Kong but the true aim here by the writer Simenon in his original book is surely his own country folk and their disgraceful behaviour during WW2. Frighteningly effective cinema.

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.