L'Assassin habite au 21 (1942)
Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot

Film Review

Clouzot's first full length film is a mild contrast with the dark, suspense-laden thrillers for which the director is best known (Les Diaboliques, Le Salaire de la peur), but it is an excellent example of the early polar genre of the 1940s.

L'Assassin habite au 21 is a comedy thriller whodunnit which, although lighter than Clouzot's later films, still manages to contain some disturbing moments.  The great director's technique is surprisingly mature and effective in this early film, the film's opening five minutes or so being particularly gripping and shocking.

The film shows is American film noir influence throughout, particularly in the atmospheric lighting and photography.  Pierre Fresnay reprises the part of the charismatic Inspector Wens from his earlier film, Le Dernier des six (1941), which Clouzot also scripted.  Suzy Delair also makes a welcome return as Wens' bubbly girlfriend, Mila Milou.

War-time censorship (from the Nazis and the paying public) was probably a major factor in determining the mood of the film.  This could equally as well have been made as a very dark psychological thriller (in the vein that Clouzot adopted, to his peril, for his next film, Le Corbeau)  Instead, a lighter approach was chosen, although curiously the humour in this film often seems to heighten rather than relieve the tension.  Some of the characters who initially appear quite comic emerge as rather sinister individuals.  Whether this contributed to the film's success is anyone's guess, but the film was certainly popular when it first shown and it established Clouzot's credentials as a film director.

Film Synopsis

A serial killer is at large in Paris and with four victims already to his name the police hunt to find him and bring him to justice is intensifying.  The only tangible clue the police have to go on so far is a visitor's card with the name Monsieur Durand on it, found near each of the bodies.  The redoubtable Inspector Wens is assigned to the case, determined to unmask the killer before he strikes again.  The inspector has a promising lead when an informer tells him that cards bearing Durand's name have been found at a boarding house, the Pension des Mimosas.

In the guise of a cleric, Wens takes a room in this low-class establishment and finds he has no shortage of likely suspects in the vicinity.  Assisted by his mistress, the vivacious singer Mila Malou, the inspector worms his way into the confidence of his fellow lodgers, hoping that one of them will betray himself or at least provide a clue as to the whereabouts of the killer.  First there is Colin, a strange man who makes mechanical toys for a living.  Then there is a retired military man, Linz.  Finally, there is Lalah Poor, a conjurer who arrays himself as an Indian mystic for his popular music hall act.

When another murder takes place, Wens is sure Colin is the culprit and hastily has him taken into police custody.  But then there is a further killing, so Colin is released and Linz is arrested in his place.  The next murder is at the music hall where Lalah Poor performs, so it seems that the conjurer is the killer, and he is the next of the three lodgers to be picked up by the police.  Through lack of evidence, Lalah Poor is released and Wens' investigation appears to have drawn a blank.  But then, in the course of a party at the boarding house, the inspector finally discovers the key to the mystery.  It seems there is more than one killer at Number 21...