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Stars: Viviane Romance, Michel Simon, Paul Bernard, Lita Recio | Written by Julien Duvivier, Charles Spaak | Directed by Julien Duvivier

The setting for this 1946 gem is a small French town, and the fast-moving plot concerns the murder of a local woman, Aurore Noblet. While the police are baffled by the killing, the locals are quick to assume the culprit: Monsieur Hire (Michel Simon), a reclusive and friendless man who’s too smart for his own good.

When the beautiful Lili (Vivian Romance) – Aka “Alice” – comes to town, she runs straight into the arms of her lover, Alfred (Paul Bernard). Alfred is, of course, the killer – and now the beneficiary of a purse containing 7,000 francs. However, Hire apparently has proof of Alfred’s guilt, so it is imperative that the scheming couple get him out of the way, and they will do so by blaming him for the murder of Noblet. Helpfully for them,...

For directing skill and sensual sophistication this psychologically intense murder tale equals or betters the most sophisticated American noirs. Julien Duvivier gives us Michel Simon as Monsieur Hire, a strange man loathed by his neighbors. Entranced by the woman he spies through his bedroom window, Hire doesn’t realize that she’s helping to frame him for murder, and then set him out like bait for a vengeful mob. The restored French classic is a beauty in every respect; the extras include a highly educational, must-see discussion of movie subtitling, by Bruce Goldstein.

Panique

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 955

1946 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 98 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 18, 2018 / 39.95

Starring: Michel Simon, Viviane Romance, Paul Bernard, Charles Dorat, Lucas Gridoux.

Cinematography: Nicolas Hayer

Film Editor: Marthe Poncin

Special Effects: W. Percy Day

Original Music: Jean Weiner

Written by Julien Duvivier, Charles Spaak from a novel by...

The New York Film Festival’s diverse slate of programming included a Revivals slate, a series of the latest restoration and re-releases of essential cinematic classics. Some of the films included Robert Bresson’s final film “L’Argent,” Edward Yang’s second feature “Taipei Story” and Julien Duvivier’s long-unseen postwar film “Panique,” which will have a two-week run at the Film Forum this January. Watch an exclusive trailer for the restoration below.

Read More: ‘The Lion in Winter’ Restoration Trailer: Anthony Harvey’s Beloved Adaptation Gets 4K Freshening — Watch

An adaptation of Georges Simenon’s “Mr. Hire’s Engagement,” the film follows Monsieur Hire (Michel Simon), a reviled, aloof voyeur who’s framed for murder by the very girl (Viviane Romance) whom he adores. It was Duvivier’s first film in France after his stint working Hollywood during World War II, and though it was criticized at the time for its bleakness,...

Marc Allégret: From André Gide lover to Simone Simon mentor (photo: Marc Allégret) (See previous post: "Simone Simon Remembered: Sex Kitten and Femme Fatale.") Simone Simon became a film star following the international critical and financial success of the 1934 romantic drama Lac aux Dames, directed by her self-appointed mentor – and alleged lover – Marc Allégret.[1] The son of an evangelical missionary, Marc Allégret (born on December 22, 1900, in Basel, Switzerland) was to have become a lawyer. At age 16, his life took a different path as a result of his romantic involvement – and elopement to London – with his mentor and later "adoptive uncle" André Gide (1947 Nobel Prize winner in Literature), more than 30 years his senior and married to Madeleine Rondeaux for more than two decades. In various forms – including a threesome with painter Théo Van Rysselberghe's daughter Elisabeth – the Allégret-Gide relationship remained steady until the late '20s and their trip to...

Simone Simon: Remembering the 'Cat People' and 'La Bête Humaine' star (photo: Simone Simon 'Cat People' publicity) Pert, pretty, pouty, and fiery-tempered Simone Simon – who died at age 94 ten years ago, on Feb. 22, 2005 – is best known for her starring role in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie classic Cat People (1942). Those aware of the existence of film industries outside Hollywood will also remember Simon for her button-nosed femme fatale in Jean Renoir's French film noir La Bête Humaine (1938).[1] In fact, long before Brigitte Bardot, Annette Stroyberg, Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld, Ann-Margret, and Barbarella's Jane Fonda became known as cinema's Sex Kittens, Simone Simon exuded feline charm – with a tad of puppy dog wistfulness – in a film career that spanned two continents and a quarter of a century. From the early '30s to the mid-'50s, she seduced men young and old on both...

Admired actor with an instinctive presence and austere looks

One of the greatest performances in the history of film was given by Claude Laydu, in the title role of Robert Bresson's Journal d'un Curé de Campagne (Diary of a Country Priest, 1951). As a young, sickly priest unable to resolve the problems of his small parish, and assailed by self-doubt, Laydu, who has died aged 84, brought his own spirituality, instinctive presence and intense ascetic looks to the role. His portrayal prompted Jean Tulard to write in his Dictionary of Film that "no other actor deserves to go to heaven as much as Laydu".

This is even more remarkable given that Bresson declared that "Art is transformation. Acting can only get in the way", and that he called his actors "models" whom he trained to remove all traces of theatricality and to speak in a monotonic manner. Bresson chose the 23-year-old from among many candidates,...