Inspector Maigret

French crime movies are undoubtedly the best of the species, and Inspector Maigret is no exception. In the great tradition of Rififi and Grisbi, Inspector Maigret combines suspense with psychopathy and murder to produce a superlative detective story.

Based on Georges Simenon's Maigret Sets a Trap, Inspector Maigret is a slick story of a manhunt. It opens, naturally enough, with a magnificent murder. The "Mairais Killer," so named because he does his business in the Marais quarter of Paris, has made a habit of stabbing young women. The killer challenges Inspector Maigret, who would prefer to go fishing, takes on the case.

It all seems typical of French crime films, but as soon as Maigret appears, the weird story begins to emerge. As the manhunt runs its two-hour course, Maigret captures two murderers, an adultress, her gigolo, and the Marais Killer's possessive mother. Also in this line-up are an unfortunate butcher and a petty criminal who consents to act as a murder suspect.

The killer, it turns out, is an impotent psychopath who murders women because he can't bring himself to kill his unfaithful wife. But his wife loves him, as does his mother, and the two women compete fiercely to protect him, making it extremely complicated for Maigret.

As Maigret, that old stalwart Jean Gabin gives a magnificent performance. The Inspector is not the usual suave type, he doesn't have beautiful girls falling all over him. Not only is Maigret happily married, but he is aging, paunchy, and tired. With all these drawbacks, he still managers to make Peter Gunn look like an inept amateur.

Gabin interprets Maigret as a shrewd man who can trap one murderer by being gentle and fatherly and capturing the other by being violent and disgusted. He understands what motivates a criminal and plays on their psyches like a virtuoso. Sloppy, unimpressive, Maigret is nonetheless the cleverest of sleuths, and Gabin plays him to perfection.

The rest of the cast is equally good. As the effeminate killer, Jean Desailly is babyish and hysterical; Annie Girardot and Lucienne Bogaert as his wife and mother respectively are just demonic enough to explain his mental condition. In his short role as the gigolo, Gerard Sety is amusing and properly nervous in his frank scene that is the comic high point of the film.

Director Jean Delannoy gets the most out of the devious alleys of Paris. The murder scenes are particularly effective, showing only the killer's hands nervously clutching his belt as he awaits his victim. Delannoy's avoidance of full-face close-up shots emphasizes the realistic tone of the film.

Actually, Inspector Maigret is a gem of understatement. Always frank, in the best French tradition, the movie is nonetheless in perfect taste. As a result, it is absorbing and believable. Besides, there is no better combination than Jean Gabin and good Gallic murder-mystery.