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Quai des Orfevres

Play trailer Poster for Quai des Orfevres Released Mar 5, 1948 1h 50m Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Jenny Lamour (Suzy Delair) sings in a music hall in postwar Paris, accompanied by her husband, Maurice Martineau (Bernard Blier), on piano. When Martineau notices his wife flirting with an older businessman named Georges Brignon, he follows her to Brignon's house with the intent to kill him. At the house, Brignon is found murdered -- but by someone else. Inspector Antoine (Louis Jouvet) conducts an investigation that implicates Martineau, whose planned alibi comes loose.
Quai des Orfevres

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Critics Consensus

Henri-Georges Clouzot's engrossing noir explores the troubles of post-war France and the line dividing social struggle and criminality.

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Critics Reviews

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Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Clouzot is able to reveal a complex and interactive working-class world in which cops and criminals are sometimes difficult to tell apart. Apr 20, 2009 Full Review Variety Staff Variety Direction by Henri-Georges Clouzot takes full advantage of every possible opportunity to bring out character and manages to keep the tempo at a fast clip all the time. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Time Out Jouvet's Maigret-esque cop gets all the best lines, and gives the film its human, tragic focus. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand [Henri-Georges] Clouzot’s mercenary world of lies, greed, jealousy, and corruption offers a bleak portrait of postwar France. Nov 18, 2023 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia An intriguing film about jealousy, suspicion and police traps. I expected no less from Clouzot. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Apr 22, 2021 Full Review Ray Pride Newcity The exquisite noir lighting and location work suggest a kind of realism, which Clouzot constantly subverts with near-deranged expressionist elements. To watch Blier staggering down an alley in this film is to recognize the limits of color film. Rated: 10/10 Jun 28, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member A fascinating French Film Noir. Every element of the film is meticulously produced. The last few minutes disappointed a bit, but did not harm my appreciation for this superb work of art. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Between 2.5 and 3 stars. Photography and actors are OK, it is well directed. But the script is not enought to be a good film noir. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review paul d Very well done, complex film noir that reveals the gritty side of a poor, post-war Paris and develops each character deeply. Highly recommended. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review laurent b Louis Jouvet plays one of his most interesting and touching character, in this brillant thriller, once again so well-written and acted. The black & white is beautiful. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A dogged policeman (Louis Jouvet) investigates a married music hall couple after a repugnant film producer and pornographer turns up dead in Clouzot's first post-war film (prior to well-known thrillers Les Diaboliques and The Wages of Fear). Not exactly noir and not exactly police procedural but blending elements from these genres with the backstage musical (albeit the particularly French kind). Bernard Blier (the husband and accompanist) is spurred to passionate jealousy by Suzy Delair's (the wife and singer) willingness to flirt with producers to advance her career. Thus, he is suspect number one when she gets mixed up with the soon-dead producer - or perhaps she is suspect number one - or perhaps their lesbian friend downstairs is suspect number one? With Jouvet on the trail, the clues start to fall into place in a satisfying way - although Clouzot is much more interested in l'affaire de coeur than in any diddly-squat murder investigation. Top notch. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member It's a great film, full of mystery and intense moments. Didn't expect it to be so good, but at the end I enjoyed it. If you're a fan of oldish French movies, don't miss it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Quai des Orfevres

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Movie Info

Synopsis Jenny Lamour (Suzy Delair) sings in a music hall in postwar Paris, accompanied by her husband, Maurice Martineau (Bernard Blier), on piano. When Martineau notices his wife flirting with an older businessman named Georges Brignon, he follows her to Brignon's house with the intent to kill him. At the house, Brignon is found murdered -- but by someone else. Inspector Antoine (Louis Jouvet) conducts an investigation that implicates Martineau, whose planned alibi comes loose.
Director
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Producer
Roger De Venloo, Louis Wipf
Screenwriter
Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jean Ferry
Distributor
Rialto Pictures
Production Co
Majestic Film
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 5, 1948, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$25.6K
Runtime
1h 50m