Audience Member
An early work of the French master of suspense, Clouzot, considered the French equivalent of Hitchcock and author of some fine movies such as Les Diaboliques. The dénouement is nice but the comedic aspects are no longer funny, yet too pronounced to let you take the film seriously as a whodunit. Overall I was happy when it ended
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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Sameir A
Crime Mystery Thrillers are always fascinating, especially those times. As usual, the movie goes through investigation of a serial killing, by a very intelligent detective, accompanies by his wife. The essential twists and turns are awesome and makes it really interesting to watch.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
12/29/21
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laurent b
One of the best french suspense movie, by one of the greatest french director ever. A number of brillant actors, and a very well-written scenario, for this highly entertaining movie, that mingle mystéry, suspense and comédy.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
If you like your murder mysteries full of humor, pathos and interesting characters, this is the film for you. The ending is as unpredictable as any ever concocted and makes the trip all the more enjoyable. Great acting and a very lively script.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
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Audience Member
Fast and darkly comic detective thriller about serial murders taking place in a suburb of Paris. An unusual directing debut from the man who subsequently gave us the superior Les Diaboliques - a cross between Agatha Christie and Philip Marlowe, with a sprinkling of Talbot Rothwell.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
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Audience Member
Le Dernier des Six, from 1941, introduced us to Pierre Fresnay as Wens, a police detective of some skill. That film was clearly a success, for a sequel was commissioned. L'assassin habite... au 21 (The Murderer Lives at Number 21) brings Wens back, and before long another ingenious killer is on the loose, and it is Wens responsibility to stop him.
That first film was based on an early script written by Henri-Georges Clouzot. This film marks his debut as director. That fact alone makes L'assassin a must-watch. Thankfully there is much to admire in here, even if the film is somewhat ropey. It opens with quite a thrilling point-of-view hunt - a figure stalks and kills a drunk in the rain-soaked streets. It is another murder from M. Durand, the unknown killer stalking the Parisian streets.
Wens is determined to catch the killer, and a tip-off from a criminal locates M. Durand as a resident of Number 21, a boarding house. So naturally Wens goes undercover (as a priest, no less), moving into Number 21, and one by one eliminating its residents as suspects. The residents are all a little odd - there is an elderly lady, a wannabe crime writer, a blind former boxer, a magician... the solution to crime films must make sense for the film to have any lasting impact, and right until its final moments L'assassin seems to be losing the battle, but a final twist allows all the pieces to slot beautifully into place.
L'assassin never comes fully to life - like the previous Wens film there are sequences to admire here, shots that are considered and brave, but the broad comedy the series insists upon lessens some of its impact. Again Suzy Delair is the singer Mila Malou, and though she is less grating here, she does have a few scenes of awful comedy-mugging that it makes you groan. Thankfully she is given less to do this time round.
L'assassin, like the previous Wens film, is based on the novel by crime-writer Stanislas-André Steeman, with the script by Clouzot and Steeman.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
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