Le chat et la souris

The Cat and the Mouse is classic thriller with many twists. Like its star Michele Morgan in her last feature role, it has survived the test of time wonderfully. The film oozes style and realism whilst never appearing to do too much or be too self-conscious. Some of the scenes and camera shots used by Lelouch have long been stolen by American and Hong Kong cinema but they still feel fresh and effective.

The two lead, Regianni from Casque D'Or and Morgan from Port of Shadows are both right on point, they play their role with sobriety and panache. The film is captivating from beginning to end. Throughout this extensive investigation, Lelouch paints a realistic portrayal of humanity and temptation, from all levels of society.

Police Commissioner Serge Reggiani is called in on a most peculiar case: Jean-Pierre Aumont, one of the richest men in France, has killed himself at home. At the same time, thieves have stolen very valuable paintings from his house. Aumont's widow, Michèle Morgan, is the natural suspect, but she was seeing a movie at the time, and no matter how he and his assistant, Philippe Léotard, try, they can't make the timelines match.

We follow Reggiani for two years, his taking bribes, his training his dog to attack on command, his relationship with his daughter, whom he marries off to Leotard, his forced retirement to a farm, where he works on a book about the case. At the same time, he develops feelings for Mlle. Morgan, and because he is no longer a cop, he just wants to solve the case, with no sense he has to bring her to justice.

Eventually he does figure out what happened, but that's just ubiquitous background to this movie by Claude Lelouch. Once again, the director has taken a leisurely view of his story, with all the details of life, few of which connect save through Reggiani, filling in the characters in great detail, like some detailed mosaic that leads to a life. It lacks the sense of inevitability, of fate, that some of his better known movies thrive on, but it's certain very watchable.

This is a really sweet, charming comedy! Delightful!

(Yes, it is a parody; it's a comedy.)

A rich bourgeois has died:is it suicide or murder?As he cheated on his wife ,and was about to divorce from her,the lady (Michèle Morgan) is the main suspect.

Claude Lelouch,who is ,at least to my eyes, a minor French director ,is at his best when he tries his hand at light thrillers or comedies ."Le Chat et la Souris" recalls "le Voyou" ,with its construction which looks like a puzzle ,its screenplay "à Tiroirs" and even the movie in the movie trick .Lelouch really plays cat and mouse with the audience as Detective Lechat (sic)(Regggiani) does with his still attractive suspect (or is it the other way about?).

There are plenty of funny scenes and some witty lines ("you see this distinguished lady riding a motorbike?");and the nail in the Rum Baba in the chic restaurant is a good idea to provide the detective with the final clue (so to speak,for "nail" is "clou" in French).

Objections: there are not enough scenes where Reggiani and Morgan are together ,and the scenes of the detective's private life (and his assistant's ,played by Philippe Leotard)get in the way.

This film accounts for the difference between Lelouch's world and ,say ,Chabrol's. The latter ,in his best works ,ferociously attacks the bourgeoisie.Lelouch,on the other hand ,makes sure the bourgeois moral is intact.Thou shalt not covet other people's possession.

This film has stayed near the top of my recommendation list since I first saw it in 1976, in spite of the fact that I haven't seen it but once since then, when I found a copy on Betamax (remember Sony?).

The storyline is an interesting and romantic mystery between a detective and the femme fatale suspect. The many plot twists and turns are only bettered by the wonderful cinematography and mr. LeLouch's delicious direction through the streets of Paris and the countryside of France.

I have seen many "foreign" films the past 30 years, and this one has continued to hold a fond place in my memory. There is so much dreck on video, and so many pleasant little films for the over-twelve audience have simply slipped through the cracks and disappeared into the mists of time. A real shame for those of us tired of seeing endless scenes of carnage and violence...