Cecile Is Dead (1944) DVD-R

Starring Albert Préjean, Santa Relli, Germaine Kerjean, Luce Fabiole, Liliane Maigné
Directed by Maurice Tourneur

Print: Black and White
Runtime: 90 min.
Genre: Drama

God knows what Starskey and Hutch or Bullitt would make of it but there's a moment around halfway through this movie when Maigret, following clues that link the bad guys to La Rochelle, is obliged to commandeer a tandem when his car breaks down. On the other hand there WAS a war on - this was one of the three Maigret movies turned out by Continental during the Occupation - so maybe French moviegoers empathised with the guy from Quai des Orfevres. With Maurice Tourneur on bullhorn we might expect a tad more flair than some of the hacks who put in time with Continental and overall there is a tightness about it though nothing too startling - for the record Cecile is a regular at HQ and dismissed as a joke until her theories start paying off. Albert Prejean is still not quite at home as Maigret but it's pleasant enough.