Second investigation by private eye Carter ,a Hercule Poirot ersatz , after "le château des quatre obèses ".
A wealthy stingy uncle is absent from his desirable castle ,and his nephews take the advantage of it to entertain their friends during the Reveillon on Christmas Night; the unexpected return of the squire spoils the party but shortly after , the wicked uncle is murdered and all the people in the place are suspects .
The first half is passable ,with the first scene using the telephones and a relatively mysterious atmosphere ; but the investigation is tedious , Yvan Noe's directing lacks in invention and when the private gathers all the suspects a la Hercule Poirot , the viewer doesn't really care anymore, as far as the identity of the killer is concerned ,in spite of a red herring , which tries to enliven things a bit.
Yvan Noe's best works would come later ,particularly "la cavalcade des heures" and "une mort sans importance ".
