Inspector Maigret

Alongside Molinaro's "La Mort de Belle", the best adaptation of a Simenon story for the big screen.

Helmer Delannoy proves a past master at creating a stifling atmosphere ( night scenes, a hot stormy weather, a heady melody pervading the story ), managing to make the tension rise and swell regularly until it explodes in a triple climax ( Maurice's interrogation, the confrontation of Maurice's wife and mother, the final attempt to murder Mauricette ). So, when the rain finally starts falling in the final seconds of the movie, it does as much good to bulky, weary Gabin as it does to the tense viewer.

Of course, the film benefits from a great interpretation : Jean Gabin gives life to his determined-shrewd-exhausted "commissaire" while Jean Desailly shines as the poor but dangerous Maurice whose boyhood has been prolonged by the misguided love of his mother ( Lucienne Bogaërt, perfect ). And Annie Girardot plays subtly and with welcome restraint the loving wife of a monster.

Sure, Misraki's music and song are haunting and the camera-work is sleek, but what actually makes this film a major work is that the authors( R.M.Arlaud, Delannoy and Audiard ) are true to the spirit of Simenon : disillusioned with human nature but sympathetic with those who are its victims, however monstrous they may appear to society.

This is the first of three films in which Georges Simenon's marvellous creation Jules Maigret is played by Jean Gabin. Rather plodding initially and resembling a standard 'policier', it takes on a new dimension and becomes totally absorbing with the appearance of Annie Girardot, Jean Desailly and Lucienne Bogaert all of whom are fantastic. In the title role Gabin's screen presence is undeniable but he is far more effective in his quieter moments than when called upon to emote. The ubiquitous Michel Audiard contributes dialogue which is always a plus whilst Louis Page is behind the camera as he was for the two subsequent films. Excellent score by Paul Misraki. At almost two hours it is a wee bit long for a whodunnit but one's interest is sustained by a brilliant cast and superb editing by Henri Taverna. Director Jean Delannoy has served Simenon well by concentrating on the psychological complexity of the characters.. The same director teamed up with Gabin the following year for 'Maigret et L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre' in which Gabin's portrayal is mellower and is ably supported by Valentine Tessier and Michel Auclair. The rest of the cast however is strictly 'B'. Five years were to elapse before 'Maigret voit Rouge' for director Gilles Grangier with whom Gabin made no less than twelve films! Despite some interesting 'types' this is basically one Maigret too far and nothing more than a mediocre gangster movie. We all have our favourite Maigret of course and mine happens to be Harry Bauer. Apparently Simenon himself favoured Rupert Davis!? Oh well, fools give you reasons, wise men never try'!

Despite his occasional appearance in the films of major directors like Max Ophuls, Jacques Becker and Jean Renoir, from the 1950s onwards Jean Gabin seemed content to rely simply on his effortlessly charismatic screen persona and elevate an apparently interminable succession of old-fashioned potboilers which, while undeniably enjoyable in themselves, now seem like a regrettable waste of this monumental French film star. Nevertheless, I try not to miss any of his films when they crop up on Italian or French Cable TV channels and, for what it's worth, I've always been on the look-out for at least two of his late 50s films - Claude Autant-Lara's LOVE IS MY PROFESSION (1958; with Brigitte Bardot) and the film under review here.

Anyway, Gabin is perfectly cast as the world-weary Police Inspector who is pondering retirement when the re-emergence of an old nemesis - a serial-killer who stabs lonely brunettes coming home late at night - taunts him back into action with a supremely clever plan to trap the killer, hence the film's title. The film also features in a supporting role the actor who, for all intents and purposes, replaced Gabin in French filmgoers' minds as the brooding action hero, Lino Ventura, but it's Annie Girardot (as a neglected but ultimately self-sacrificing wife) and Jean Desailly (as her impotent, mother-fixated artist husband) who leave the best impression in the crowded supporting cast.

Jean Gabin would go on to appear as Inspector Maigret in 2 subsequent films - MAIGRET ET L' AFFAIRE SAINT-FIACRE (1959; which I've caught up with a couple of years ago) and MAIGRET VOIS ROUGE (1963) - and work a further 5 times with director Delannoy (including the afore-mentioned second Maigret film); interestingly enough, Delannoy himself would abandon his own artistic aspirations shown earlier in two major French films of the 1940s - L'ETERNEL RETOUR (1943) and LA SYMPHONIE PASTORALE (1946) - to concentrate on modest genre offerings (of which MAIGRET SETS A TRAP is the best-known and probably best overall as well) for the rest of his career.

Inspector Maigret is celebrated French pulp writer Georges Simenon's most famous literary creation and had previously been portrayed on the screen by Pierre Renoir in one of his brother Jean's most elusive films, NIGHT AT THE CROSSROADS (1932), and also by the great Charles Laughton in Burgess Meredith's intriguing directorial outing, THE MAN IN THE EIFFEL TOWER (1950) - neither of which I've watched alas - and would go on to be impersonated by a variety of formidable character actors among them Rupert Davies, Gino Cervi and Michael Gambon for TV!

I delight in a good detective story and have seen numerous Film & TV versions of the same stories. In this case we're speaking of cases, which are for me; fantastic versions of Maigret. Gabin plays the character in such a vibrantly nuanced manner, as that of a man who is measured, but very engaged in walking the streets and getting into the nitty gritty of each case. The relationship with his wife has less to do with smiles and more to do with a woman who bursts any notional bubble he's caught in, with unpretentious aplomb. And the cases themselves are so much more detailed, complex and true to Simenon's originals than some other adaptations; especially shorter length episodes for TV. Of course, Simenon himself preferred Rupert Davies portrayal over the dozen or so other attempts. But for me this was thoroughly enjoyable!

Belgian-born writer Georges Simenon created the quiet pipe-smoking Jules Maigret, and wrote no less than 75 novels featuring the Parisian inspector, always with the background of the Quai des Orfevres police station, and his team of assistants who sift through all types of clues and evidence in the streets of the French capital, redolent with dark atmosphere.

The Quai des Orfevres office often provides the ideal setting for psychological interrogation, and this film takes full advantage of the Spartan simplicity of the station's interiors.

Director Jean Delannoy does a creditable job with the material at hand. He certainly gets Jean Gabin to reproduce many of the mannerisms that emerge in the character of Maigret in those 75 novels, but I do not rate MAIGRET TEND UN PIÈGE one of the famous detective's better showpieces. Gabin does particularly well when he keeps silent, and just conveys quiet menace, determination, or love for his homely wife with his eyes.

The beautiful and young Annie Girardot suddenly appears among the inquisitive crowd surrounding a dead female, and attracts the attention of one of Maigret's aides. Why exactly I could not fathom, as it was clear that the killer was a male, and witnesses correctly identified him as such.

The movie takes on another dimension with Girardot's presence but the finest piece of acting comes courtesy of Jean Desailly, Girardot's impotent, jealous, and hysterical husband, who has not managed to sever the umbilical cord with his domineering mother, played with considerable verve and venom by Lueienne Bogaert.

The young Lino Ventura keeps appearing in the background, and speaks but a few lines, but cuts a convincing Detective Torrence.

Maigret applies massive psychological pressure on all whom he interrogates and finally comes up with the results, but Gabin sometimes takes his Maigret to shouting and emotional levels that rather exceed the character emanating from Simenon's novels. Not that it reduces believability, but having read some of those novels I felt that this Maigret had a touch of the excessive... perhaps to stay in tune with Desailly?

Wonderful photography of the dark streets of Paris. Good adaptation of the novel to the screen by the irrepressible Michel Audiard and Director Delannoy himself.

Certainly worth watching.