Panic

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Panic

Released Nov 26, 1947

1h 35m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

100%

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11 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Alice (Viviane Romance) gets out of jail after taking the rap for a crime committed by her lover, Alfred (Paul Bernard), only to find that he has recently broken the law in a more serious fashion: After a botched holdup, Alfred brutally murdered an elderly woman. Just when the couple think their days are numbered, town outcast Monsieur Hire (Michel Simon) begins to fall for Alice. Realizing that the locals despise the pariah, Alice uses her charms to trick him into taking the fall.

Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

It is part shadowy film noir, part compelling character study and, most surprising of all, part powerful indictment of mob violence in general and the French character in particular.

May 4, 2017

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

[A] crackerjack mystery.

Feb 2, 2017

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Bilge Ebiri

Village Voice

Duvivier's film kicks off in a realist register, then gradually transforms into a noirish romance of deception until finally settling into a tragic allegory of wartime collaborationism and the cruel madness of rumor, fear and and spite.

Jan 18, 2017

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

With an atmosphere filled with suspense and moral ambiguity, Duvivier integrates elements of film noir with great subtlety and, also, allows for a formidable performance by Michel Simon. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Jun 8, 2025

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... a striking and dramatically satisfying noir-tinged portrait of ordinary people roused to a veritable lynch mob through prejudice and suspicion.

Nov 18, 2023

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Duvivier's sympathetic yet highly problematic central character and its strikingly macabre finale makes this moody piece of poetic realism a prescient example of today's compromised humanity in a globalized world.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 18, 2020

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S R

Moral dilemmas abound in this unique French thriller. Good acting and directing. I was intrigued by the plot and the ratings, so I gave it a chance. RUS

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/17/24

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Audience Member

De retour de son exil aux Etats-Unis, Julien Duvivier reprend son cinÃ©ma en France presque comme si ne rien Ã©tait. Ce premier film d'aprÃ¨s-guerre d'aprÃ¨s une nouvelle de Georges Simenon, reprend tous les codes du cinÃ©ma franÃ§ais d'avant guerre. Encore une fois Michel Simon y est grandiose et signe un de ses rÃ´les les plus marquant dans l'inquiÃ©tant Mr Hire. Patrice Leconte fera un remake du film avec Michel Blanc bien moins rÃ©ussi en 1989.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Julien Duvivier

Director

Viviane Romance

Alice

Michel Simon

Monsieur Hire

Paul Bernard

Alfred Chartier

Guy Favières

Monsieur Sauvage

Louis Florencie

L'inspecteur Marcelin

Quai des Orfevres

100%

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Synopsis

Alice (Viviane Romance) gets out of jail after taking the rap for a crime committed by her lover, Alfred (Paul Bernard), only to find that he has recently broken the law in a more serious fashion: After a botched holdup, Alfred brutally murdered an elderly woman. Just when the couple think their days are numbered, town outcast Monsieur Hire (Michel Simon) begins to fall for Alice. Realizing that the locals despise the pariah, Alice uses her charms to trick him into taking the fall.

Director: Julien Duvivier
Screenwriter: Charles Spaak, Julien Duvivier
Production Co: Filmsonor
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 26, 1947, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jan 20, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $41.6K
Runtime: 1h 35m