The Lost Life

After the low standards of the previous episode (Fontenay Murders) this one is refreshingly interesting.

The good episodes are the ones in which the drama hangs on the momentum of the investigation; things fall apart when we have to rely on atmosphere or ( heaven preserve us) in-depth character portrayal by principal suspects in the hands of those whose creative talents are not up to it.

In this one, Maigret's shadowing of the inferior local district inspector lets us see clearly the workings of the superior detective's approach. This device has been used in many a detective drama and can often lead to a clumsy mess but it is well-handled here and Maigret's famed ability to understand character being nicely integrated into his methodical process adds to the dramatic impetus whereas in some other episodes it becomes a replacement for the latter, with dire consequences for the drama. Because of all this, Maigret's final clinching explanation of the case based on his understanding of the victim rather than detailed hard evidence, feels quite acceptable and reasonable.

An intriguing feature of the series as a whole is the extraordinary amount of alcohol consumed by the police and associated officials during working hours. Such consumption was of course endemic in 60s TV drama, for various reasons, and was often ludicrous in the extreme since if anyone in real life drank the way that TV characters put it away they would be unable to walk, let alone work. But in Maigret it does take on more of an air of authenticity, partly because the consumption, though frequent, is usually in small glasses (rather than near half-pints of whisky as in, for example, The Power Game) but also because such behaviour is believable in a French context (I have myself seen the wine flowing in a French police station). Hence in this episode, serving cognac at the mortuary first thing in the morning does not seem so implausible as would Dr Laura Hobson cracking open an 8am bottle of Talisker at the John Radcliffe.

Saw this on Talking Pictures channel (UK - old films and TV) who are running all 4 of the original Maigret series (BBC, early 60s). What a terrific episode, accurately (for once!) summed up by the earlier review, from Sir Obolong Fitzybongs.

A young woman is found murdered, chucked out of a car in a backstreet. Permanently snuffling Insp Lognon (the body was in his district) tries to hide his dislike of playing 2nd fiddle to Maigret, but plods around Paris like a bloodhound, and does find some useful information, before believing a criminal, and rushing off to Brussels on a wild-goose chase!

Maigret and Lucas (who gets a trip to Nice - and flying!) start off with one little clue to the girl's identity, a dress with a label and address in it (the frock had been hired). From there they find out who she was, her address, that she'd come from the South to work (but had recently lost her job), and was a shy lonely girl.

This was all told at a nice pace, for a one hour show, and with some nice comic or human interest touches - Lucas trying to interrogate her mother (who is more interested in Roulette), Maigret sampling some soup being made by a witness, and Lognon coughing and sneezing everywhere he goes. They have to enlist Interpol - to find a couple of witnesses whose wedding the girl had attended - and talk to a senior man at the FBI (whose office looked strangely drab, like all the 'French' ones)!

They discover that her dad was a con-man (by then, was a dead con-man!) in America, and had apparently been trying to contact his daughter. The trail leads to a bar, run by and used by criminals, that had been keeping a letter for the dead girl, with some good news. But - had she ever read it, and who else had tried to take advantage? Finally they get a sort of justice for the victim, but it was due to Maigret's complex gathering of evidence, and his i'views which had gained him essential knowledge of the girl's character. And all told in an hour, a triumph.