L'assassino abita al 21

In 1941,Georges Lacombe made "le dernier des six",adapted from a Stanislas André Steeman book.Clouzot wrote the script,and introduced his girlfriend Suzy Delair (Mila Malou, a character whom he created from start to finish,Steeman's sleuth M.Wens was a bachelor).

So here we are again:a new Steeman detective story (probably his masterpiece),Fresnay as the sleuth,and Delair a pain in the neck of a singer.(She had begun to "launch " her " career" of chanteuse in "le dernier des six";I recommend this earlier work to all these who enjoyed the 1942 movie)Steeman did not like the adaptation.The couple Delair/FResnay was not his cup of tea,and anyway,like Hercule Poirot doesn't investigate in "and then there were none",M.Wens (therefore Mila Malou,Clouzot's invention)is absent from the novel "l'assassin habite au 21".But what infuriated Steeman,twas mainly that his story was set in London,and Clouzot (German Occupation) was compelled to film in Paris.

What's the matter?Clouzot's first opus,is a gem,one of these mysteries with the ending you'll never guess.Agatha Christie's fans will relish watching that!Shall I give a clue ?Mathematically,it's a ternary notation.Computers,you can forget it!For the rest,my lips are sealed.

All Clouzot's work ,all that he will brilliantly develop in subsequent works is already here :a rotten microcosm (the boarding-house with a lot of wicked old people predates the school in "les diaboliques" and the small town in "le corbeau".His sarcastic humor shines here there and everywhere.He asserts his extraordinary skills by detailing the supporting characters.Of course a diabolical suspense (and admire the elegance of Clouzot's style,when Fresnay/Wens finds out what's been going on.)

In a nutshell,a serial killer is rampant in town:they discover his address.Alas it's a boarding-house!So whodunit?Sometimes I wonder whether this charming thriller might not be superior to the renowned "le corbeau" which was released the following year.With it,a director who influenced countless ones was born.

On a street, there is a house at 21, several residents reside, each has a room, and one contains a killer, in this extremely thrilling (in the sense of enjoyable) chiller, but do not pre-empt the culprit, do not presume. Inspector Wens decides to take one of the rooms, as the killings continue, suspects assumed, they're arrested and locked up, but cadavers still pop up, though the suspects are reduced, so you assume.

A wonderful piece of whodunit filmmaking that leaves you scratching your head while smiling at the antics of L'inspecteur Wenceslas Wens and his partner Mila Malou, as they sift through the curious souls who inhabit number 21, in their search for the murderer, Monsieur Durand.

This light murder mystery, with Pierre Fresnay as the cool detective and the delightful (if a bit overwhelming) Suzy Delair as his "sidekick," somewhat a la Nick & Nora Charles, is in style and casting (Fresnay, Pierre Larquey, Noel Roquevert), sexual tension, even theme - the ambiguity of criminal responsibility - a prelude to Clouzot's far more significant Le corbeau (1943). The Fresnay-Delair duo brings fresh air to the claustrophobic space of Vichy cinema.

What a smart film this is! It took me a while to get around after the proverbial rug was pulled from under my feet towards its climax.

It is a thriller, but not just that. It is a comedy, but never distracting from the overall tone. It is intelligent, but doesn't take a cheat breather at the end to cover up writing inadequacies.

A policeman has to catch a serial killer in two days. He has for company an ambitious woman who is far from qualified to be in situations she intends to be in. He has a clue. And he has a set of strange people amongst whom he feels he has his target.

A fabulous whodunit ensues. Add to this the beautiful language of the French in what is a fairly verbose film, and you have an absolute must- see. Along with Laura, this is one of my favourite suspense thrillers from the 40s and I definitely recommend it.

Director Henri-Georges Clouzot's first film is an Agatha Christie style mystery, with the murderer constrained to the set of people in a boarding-house and a detective (Pierre Fresnay) investigating them. It's a playful script, buoyed by the perky Suzy Delair who is both his mistress and an aspiring opera singer (and in an interesting side note, Delair, a year younger than Olivia de Havilland, is as of this writing also still alive). The subject matter of a serial killer who leaves a calling card on his victims is of course serious, but it's presented here in a pretty light way, a bit like a stage play. It's also a little hokey in how its investigation proceeds and it's not all that kind to the French police who seem a bit foolish, but the resolution to the mystery is excellent and hard to see coming.

The film was made when the Nazis were occupying France, so Clouzot was working for the German production company Continental Films, and undoubtedly walking a tightrope (one that would get him into trouble with his countrymen in his next film, Le Corbeau). Some critics read veiled commentary about the Nazis in aspects of the plot (e.g. a murder shot from the perspective of the killer early on, or how heavy-handed police interrogations that border on torture can elicit a false confession), but I didn't see it quite as symbolically. The possible reference to a Nazi salute is intriguing though, and regardless, it's mind-boggling to think of this light mystery being made at this point in French history.