The Murderer Lives at Number 21
The Murderer Lives at Number 21 | |
---|---|
Directed by | Henri-Georges Clouzot |
Screenplay by | Henri-Georges Clouzot Stanislas-André Steeman |
Based on | L'assassin habite au 21" 1939 novel by Stanislas-André Steeman |
Produced by | Alfred Greven |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Armand Thirard |
Edited by | Christian Gaudin |
Music by | Maurice Yvain |
Release date |
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Running time | 83 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (
The Murderer Lives at Number 21 was the fourth film written by Clouzot for the
Plot
The police in Paris are highly concerned about a serial killer who leaves a calling card on the body of his victims, showing only the name "Monsieur Durand". The case is assigned to Inspector Wenceslas Vorobeychik[1] (known as Wens). His mistress is the ditzy singer Mila Malou, who wants publicity to boost her struggling career. She declares she will help Wens find the criminal.
Wens's first clue comes when a petty thief shows him a stack of Durand calling cards that he found hidden in the attic of a boarding house at 21 Avenue Junot: the killer must be one of the tenants. Wens takes a room there in disguise as a Protestant minister. The other tenants are a quirky lot. Monsieur Colin makes and sells dolls of Durand, with blank faces; Doctor Linz is a former abortionist; Kid Robert is a blind former boxer; "Professor" Lalah-Poor is a fakir and stage magician, who picks pockets for fun and returns the items; another tenant is writing a mystery novel; another is interested in types of whistling; and so on.
As the murders continue, Colin, Linz, and Lalah-Poor are each arrested in succession, but each is freed when another Durand murder occurs while he is in jail. To celebrate their exoneration, the boarding house landlady schedules a party and concert where various tenants will perform.
Just before the party, Wens deduces who committed the murders and asks Mila to drop hints that he will be making an arrest that night. In fact all three suspects are guilty of different murders in the series, so that each man would have an alibi for some of the crimes. They act together to capture Wens and take him to a nearby building, explaining cordially that they are going to kill him and deposit his body in a vat of
As a compliment to Wens for solving the case, they offer him the choice of which one of them will kill him, each showing his different weapon. Since they seem disposed to talk, Wens plays for time by asking which of the three murderers deserves credit for their ingenious technique of pretending there is only one killer. They tell the story but then fall to arguing about the principal credit, while Wens quietly looks on. At this point Mila arrives with a large contingent of police, and Wens is rescued.
Cast
- Suzy Delair as Mila Malou
- Pierre Fresnay as Wens
- Noël Roquevert as Dr. Linz
- Pierre Larquey as Colin
- Jean Tissier as Prof. Lalah Poor
Production
The Murderer Lives at Number 21 was the first
Henri-Georges Clouzot was assisted by the story's original author
Release
The Murderer Lives at Number 21 was released in France on July 8, 1942[12] It was released in the United States in 1947.[13]
.On its initial release in France, The Murderer Lives at Number 21 was popular with critics and audiences.[12] A reviewer from Le Miroir de l'Ecran noted the delighted reaction of the audience at the film's premiere, noting how "amusing and witty scenes alternate judiciously with more severe and dramatic ones" and that the film created a "clever cocktail of humor and drama".[12] A reviewer from Ciné-mondial praised the directing of Clouzot, stating that he "has put the finishing touches on a production that is dense, concise, mobile, varied, all in the service of a rich imagination".[12] In the United States, a reviewer for The New York Times wrote that "The Murderer Lives at Number 21, despite a wandering script that fails to tie up many loose ends, is good fun for whodunnit fans".[14]
In 2013 the film received a DVD re-release from Eureka Entertainment as part of their Masters of Cinema series. Providing a 21st-century analysis, Bring The Noise UK reviewer Michael Dodd noted the "numerous brave little digs at the occupying Germans" present in the story. He particularly singled out a scene in which a criminal has his hands raised, only to have one arm lowered by Inspector Wens so that he may light a match on the man's neck, thus making the villain look as though he is performing a Nazi salute. "It is hard to believe that the strict German authorities missed the subtext of such a shot", he concluded "and the fact that he even dared to place it in the film at all is a testament to the character of Clouzot".[15]
References
- Notes
- ^ In Russian this name means "Sparrow".
- Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ^ Mayne, French Film Guide, 1.
- ^ a b c Mayne, French Film Guide, 29.
- ^ Lloyd, Henri-Georges Clouzot, 30.
- ^ a b Lloyd, Henri-Georges Clouzot, 31.
- ^ Williams, Republic of Images, 260.
- ^ Lloyd, Henri-Georges Clouzot, 32.
- ^ "Le Denrier des Six: Production Credits". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ^ Mayne, French Film Guide, 25.
- ^ a b Lloyd, Henri-Georges Clouzot, 35.
- ^ a b c d e Mayne, French Film Guide, 28.
- Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
- ^ New York Times, Film Reviews, 2199.
- ^ "FILM REVIEW: The Murderer Lives at 21 (L'Assassin habite au 21) « Bring the Noise UK". www.bringthenoiseuk.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-10.
- Bibliography
- Lloyd, Christopher. Henri-Georges Clouzot. Manchester University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7190-7014-3.
- Mayne, Judith. French Film Guide: Le Corbeau. I.B.Tauris, 2007. ISBN 1-84511-370-5.
- The New York Times Film Reviews, 1913–1968. The New York Times, 1993.
- Williams, Alan Larson. Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking. Harvard University Press, 1992. ISBN 0-674-76268-1.