Sein schwierigster Fall (1944)

Sein schwierigster Fall: Directed by Maurice Tourneur. With Albert Préjean, Santa Relli, Germaine Kerjean, Luce Fabiole. A woman keeps coming to Quai Des Orfevres to see Inspector Maigret about disturbing events in her household.Maigret and his colleagues are annoyed, until this woman is found dead and they realize she was on to something.

“While screenwriter Jean-Paul Le Chanoisu0026#39; previous Maigret adaptation, 1943u0026#39;s u0026quot;Picpusu0026quot;, examined the unusual intuition-based methods of Georges Simenonu0026#39;s famous literary commissaire, u0026quot;Cecile Is Deadu0026quot;, his second Maigret film, finds a starting point in the consequences of his fame. As one of Parisu0026#39; most successful and senior police officers, in charge of all the most sensational criminal investigations, Maigret is a darling of the press and consequently the public. u0026quot;Youu0026#39;re as famous as a movie star,u0026quot; says his boss (Marcel André). An unwanted side-effect of this fame, however, is that Maigret is constantly beset by all kinds of kooks and paranoids with nothing better to do than look over their shoulders at imaginary criminals just waiting to kill them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne such kook is Cécile Pardon (Santa Relli), a spinster living with her elderly aunt (Germaine Kerjean) whom everyone at the police station believes is in love with Maigret. Every few days, she makes her regular visits to the station demanding to speak to the commissaire urgently. She is certain that someone is breaking into her apartment every night for whenever she wakes she finds her belongings moved around. But Maigret is too busy dealing with another sensational case, the beheading of a young woman, to deal with Cécileu0026#39;s paranoid claims and is furthermore deeply embarrassed by the endless teasing from his colleagues.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThen, one day, Cécile is found dead. Strangled and dumped in a closet in the very police station she sought solace in. Realising they were wrong about Cécile and her claims, the same inspectors who laughed at her led by Maigret himself now put all their experience and skills to work to find the ruthless killer who murdered Cécile, her aunt, and who might be the same person who decapitated the young woman.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLearning his lesson after the confusing and overstuffed u0026quot;Picpusu0026quot;, Jean-Paul Le Chanois sticks very close to the plot of Georges Simenonu0026#39;s novel. The simple, yet effective narrative is clearly told in an engaging and pacy manner. Some issues inherent in many films of the era are present, such as overly talky scenes and awkward attempts at humour, but ultimately this is a well-told story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe side is let down, however, by Maurice Tourneuru0026#39;s lacklustre, workaday direction. In one of the last movies he ever made, the experienced silent movie director shows little flair for atmosphere or drama. His shots are static and unimaginative and not helped by his stagy blocking. The director of u0026quot;Carnival of Sinnersu0026quot; brings none of the expressionistic style on display in that film instead opting to make a rather visually dull and old-fashioned film. Unlike u0026quot;Picpusu0026quot;, directed by Richard Pottier, which was clearly influenced by film noir, u0026quot;Cecil Is Deadu0026quot; resembles more an early talkie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTourneur also seems to have encouraged rather theatrical performances from his actors. This method works in some cases and fails in others. Germaine Kerjean and Yves Deniaud, for instance, give good comedic performances as the grumpy old aunt and her sleazy cousin, respectively. They are broad and farcical, but consistently funny. Not as good, however, is André Reybaz as the old womanu0026#39;s destitute nephew. He overacts so much and hits so many false notes he seems more like an extra from u0026quot;Metropolisu0026quot; than someone starring in a contemporary picture almost 20 years later. His is the kind of performance that gave silent movies a bad name. Santa Relli, on the other hand, gives an unusually subdued and realistic turn as the mocked Cécile which helps her character stand out as the only sane person in a family of caricatures.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt the centre of it all is Albert Préjean. I very much liked his performance in u0026quot;Picpusu0026quot; when he was allowed to play a William Holden-like charmer, a suave bruiser in the quest for justice. Now, in a film with no noirish elements, he gives a more subdued and forgettable performance. His Maigret here is more surly and less charming which consequently makes him a lot less likeable. He seems a little ill at ease in this old-fashioned movie. However, Préjean still possesses a captivating screen presence and is still fun to watch even when he seems to be holding back on the very characteristics that made him a star.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCompared with u0026quot;Picpusu0026quot;, u0026quot;Cecile Is Deadu0026quot; is a less inventive and atmospheric movie but its story is significantly better told and the overall tone is much closer to Georges Simenonu0026#39;s original. In the end, I really did enjoy this movie, finding its story captivating, its characters well-rounded, and the performance of Santa Relli genuinely likeable. The script by Jean-Paul Le Chanois offers a new perspective on Maigret and the day-to-day workings of the police force. I just wish it had been directed with the same flair and visual inventiveness as the first movie.”