La Nuit du carrefour
1932 Crime Thriller
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Credits
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Summary
Inspector Maigret investigates the mysterious murder of a Dutch diamond dealer, found
dead in a stolen car. The car belongs to an insurance agent, Michonnet, and has
been abandoned in the garage belonging to Carl Andersen. Carl’s sister,
Else, is not what she seems, but is linked to a gang of ruthless crooks...
Review
Jean Renoir is not normally associated with the crime thriller genre, but in La Nuit
du carrefour he manages to turn out a more than satisfactory adaptation of a Georges
Simenon novel. Whilst it is apparent that the director is still experimenting with
his technique, he shows a surprising maturity and in this film he appears to be defining
the ground rules for what would become one of the most popular genres in French cinema
in the following decades. Renoir cast his own brother Pierre in the role of the
Inspector Maigret, the second film appearance of the legendary pipe-smoking detective
(the first being in Jean Tarride's Le
Chien jaune, 1932).
© James Travers 2002
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