Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre (1959)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Jean Delannoy

Writers:

Georges Simenon (novel)
Jean Delannoy (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

2 September 1959 (France)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

Inspector Maigret is traveling to the French countryside to visit his friend, the duchess of Saint-Fiacre...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Based On Novel | Character Name In Title

Cast

Jean Gabin	...	Le commissaire Jules Maigret
Michel Auclair	...	Maurice de Saint-Fiacre
Valentine Tessier	...	La comtesse de Saint-Fiacre
Jacques Morel	...	Maître Mauléon
Michel Vitold	...	L'abbé Jodet
Gabrielle Fontan	...	Marie Tatin, l'épicière
Jean-Pierre Granval	...	Le journaliste
Camille Guérini	...	Gaulthier
Jacques Hilling	...	Le garçon de café
Micheline Luccioni	...	Arlette - une prostituée
Jacques Marin	...	Albert, le chauffeur
Amarande	...	Myriam (as Armande Navarre)
Marcel Pérès	...	Le sacristain
Serge Rousseau	...	Émile Gaulthier
Hélène Tossy	...	Mme Gaulthier

Also Known As:

Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (International: English title)
Maigret e il caso Saint Fiacre (Italy)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Café "Le Grand Café" - 49 place Allier, Moulins, Allier, France

Company:

Cinétel

Movie Connections:

Version of "Maigret: Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre (#1.19)" (1995)

Maigret's getting old

Yes, Delannoy was kicked around quite a bit by those young Cahiers critics, some of whom went on to make stodgy films themselves (if I have to watch another soporific Chabrol "thriller", I may give up movies altogether). Delannoy was a solid craftsman who gave us two blond deities in Jean Marais and Madeleine Sologne (wonderful L'Eternel retour), and the gorgeous, although sightless blue eyes of Michele Morgan in La symphonie pastorale. That picture opened up new vistas of sexuality for me.

But a craftsman can only do so much. There is a lack of focus here, the result of some bad casting. Some of the acting is atrocious: Robert Hirsch as the art expert Sabatier, one of the prime suspects, is always on the verge of hysterics. Michel Vitold as the priest gives off guilty vibes, although he hasn't done anything. Only Valentine Tessier and Michel Auclair, playing mother and son, rise to the occasion. Tessier and Gabin have a delightful scene together at the opening, talking about the old days in their little town. Auclair is especially good as the corrupt heir to a declining fortune; he looks like he stepped out of a Rococo painting.