Le Furet (1949)
Directed by Raymond Leboursier

Film Review

Stanislas-André Steeman's famous fictional detective, Inspector Wens, made his fourth screen appearance in this involving murder mystery, a worthy follow-up to Wens's previous outings in Georges Lacombe's Le Dernier des six (1941), Henri-Georges Clouzot's L'Assassin habite au 21 (1942) and Robert-Paul Dagan's L'Ennemi sans visage (1946).  In the first two of these films, Wens had been played, with an appealing sardonic charm, by Pierre Fresnay.  Although perfect as Wens, Fresnay was unwilling to reprise the role, so it went to Frank Villard in the next film, and then to the comparatively unknown Pierre Jourdan in Le Furet. Totally obscured by an ensemble of superb character actors (Jacques Baumer, Pierre Larquey, Pierre Renoir, Jean Tissier, Jean Servais) and sensual females (Jany Holt, Jacqueline Delubac, Colette Darfeuil), Jourdan's presence is hardly noticed, and you wonder why Wens wasn't airbrushed out of the story altogether.

Le Furet looks as if it may have been directed by Clouzot but in fact it was helmed by the far less well-known Raymond Leboursier, arguably the only film he made that is worth watching.  Certainly, it has a degree of commitment and artistry which is scarcely discernible in Leboursier's other films, trite comedies such as Les Petits riens (1942) and Les Gros malins (1969).  Adapting his own novel, Stanislas-André Steeman crafts a compelling and highly ingenious murder mystery which has the spectator hooked right from the first scene.  Moodily photographed by Georges Million, the film has an oppressive film noir feel to it, which is beautifully offset by some subtle black humour and unexpected excursions into eroticism ( the scene in which Jany Holt is tied by her wrists to a bed whilst being threatened by Servais screams S&M).  An anonymous letter writer driven by malevolent intent...  You could well believe that Leboursier was inspired by Clouzot's Occupation era masterpiece, Le Corbeau (1943) - how else can we account for the presence of Pierre Larquey in a similar role?

"Where is the darkness?  Where is the light?" Larquey asked us in his most famous role, as Dr Vorzet in Le Corbeau.  In Le Furet, he excels in an equally ambiguous role, charming us as the seemingly harmless crystal ball gazer, whilst subtly hinting at the darkness that lies beneath.  Le Furet boasts some memorable performance - Balmer, Servais and Renoir are all excellent - but it is Pierre Larquey who steals the film with one of the most subtle and mesmeric performances of his stupendous career.  Evil is so much more disconcerting when it wears a benign face, and here Larquey's downplayed portrayal of evil is genuinely chilling.  If only Pierre Fresnay could have been persuaded to step back into Wens's shoes one last time...

Film Synopsis

Paris is in the grip of a crime wave.  A series of seemingly unrelated murders have taken place, and on each occasion the police are forewarned of the crime by a letter signed 'Le Furet'.  The only thing the murders have in common is that there is an obvious suspect with the means, opportunity and motive, but to Chief Inspector Hyacinthe it appears that the crimes are the work of one crazed individual.  To help resolve the mystery, he calls in the celebrated Inspector Wens.  The mysterious letter writer is revealed to be a fortune teller who goes by the name Professor Star.  The latter claims he foresaw each of the murders and felt duty-bound to warn the police.  Professor Star could so easily be the killer, were it not for the fact that he has a perfect alibi for every one of the murders - and it seems he really does have the gift of second sight...