This is a very fine example of a French hardboiled detective novel turned into a film. Manchette's novel Morgue plain tells the story of hapless Gendarm turned unsuccesful private investigator who stumbles into a case that is a couple of sizes too big for him. The plot is somewhat convoluted almost putting Raymond Chandler to shame but it works extremely well. The film is a pretty starightforward adaptation of the book with a great cast. Eugene Tarpon is a tragic and funny character at the same time, imagine a mix between Philip Marlowe and any tragic character you can think of. The film excellently captures the essence of Tarpon's shabby life and the cinematography is excellent. The only thing that I feel didn't come across in this adaptation was Tarpon's wise crackls that are very funny in the book, partly because you don't really expect them.
