Komisario Palmun erehdys

"Director and scenarist Matti Kassila is well versed in the modus operandi of a whodunit, every suspect has something to hide, which can be traced by their individual temperaments. It is a smorgasbord of one-note performers, a buffoonish lush Aimo (Siimes) and his seemingly innocuous sister Airi (Salo), whose finance Erik (Oravisto, showing horrible teeth) is a humorless square. There is Bruno's harpy aunt Amalia (Saara Ranin, a hairy mole near her mouth almost steals her thunder) and his estranged wife Alli (Mantsas) who has a proclivity of hysteria. Also obliviously join the fold is a meet-cute between an appealing socialite Irma (Pohjanpää) and a name writer Laihonen (Riuttu). Ergo, it requests some quality time to suss the whole ensemble, plus subtitle-reading does not help."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

Komisarion Palmun erehdys (Inspector Palmu's Error) is based on a book in the detective series by Mika Valtari, a celebrated Finnish author. Thus, it has some of the best scripts in movies I have seen, and in style quite close to Agatha Christie's classic crime mysteries. Having read the book first on which the film is based, it is very faithfully translated to the screen, and even surpasses it in many respects. It is the best one of the film versions of Inspector Palmu books, and well worth seeing.

A rich playboy is murdered in his bath in his manor, and the grumpy and cynical old Inspector Palmu along with his youthful and eager, yet naive assistant must discover who did the crime. A thorough investigation of all the suspects follows, and keeps you in suspense until the end. Telling more would spoil the plot, you had better see the movie yourself.

Acting is excellent, especially by the actor in the main role of Inspector Palmu. There are no unnecessary pauses or gaps in the story, and its keeps going forward. Visual and set design is excellent, and supports the story, while not being overly lavish either. I watched the movie multiple times already and enjoyed each one of those viewings.

Absolutely one of the best black & white films made in Finland, but for sure the best Mika Waltari novel that has been filmed into a motion picture. Even beats The Egyptian(Sinuhe)(laugh). Murderer makes always one mistake and you make a mistake too if you don´t watch this one. Film includes old Helsinki scenes and fabulous actors, very scary + jazzy music score.

And hey, did you know that loads of hilarious amateur film versions have been made of "Komisario Palmu", inspired by this classic Finnish crime film. Perfect.

This is an absolutely delightful movie, one of my all time favourites. It is a mixture of comedy, exitement, dark humor etc. The actors work terrificly as in every Komisario Palmu movie. This movie has great turns and it always succees to scare me deliciously on the end. You can´t get tired of this movie, I can assure you that!

An intricately constructed locked-room murder mystery that demands your full attention or you'll be lost quickly in its multiple characters, subplots, and flashbacks. Joel Rinne is a delight as the wily Inpsector Palmu, and he is surrounded by an effective supporting cast, with Elina Pohjanpää especially cute as Irma. There may be a tad too much talk in this film, but the sheer novelty of watching a Finnish production, and a well-done at that, in this genre is enough to hold your attention. It was followed by three sequels, all with the same star and director, and I am sufficiently motivated to check out at least the first of them and see how it goes. The title is a bit strange, though - I didn't see any "error" on Palmu's part. *** out of 4.