Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre (1959)
Directed by Jean Delannoy

Film Review

Jean Gabin reprises the role of Inspector Maigret for the second time in what is one of the best film outings for Georges Simeon's famous detective hero.  The self-assured and efficient direction comes from Jean Delannoy, one of the pillars of quality cinema of the 1940s and 1950s, who, at the time, was being vilified by the hot-headed young critics of the Cahiers du cinéma.  Whilst not Delannoy's best film, Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre is a fine example of the detective thriller genre, benefiting from talent on both the acting and writing side.

Film Synopsis

Recently returned to his home town of Moulins, Superintendent Maigret is happily reminiscing on his past when he receives an unexpected telephone call from the Countess of Saint-Fiacre.  Audibly distressed, the countess confides that she has just received an anonymous letter telling her that she will die in a very short time.  The next day, the countess does indeed die - from a fatal heart attack.  Convinced that the unfortunate woman was murdered, Maigret begins his investigation by calling on her residence and questioning the people who were closest to her.

The two most likely suspects are the countess's wayward son Maurice and her devoted secretary and lover, Lucien Sabatier.  Among his many duties, the latter was tasked with selling his employer's valuable possessions. As Maurice and Lucien both stand to inherit the countess's estate it is tempting to think that one or maybe both of them had a hand in her death.  Then there is the countess's efficient estate manager, Gautier, whose son Émile works for a bank.  It is the latter who reveals that the countess was forced into selling off most of her land in order to bankroll her son's extravagant lifestyle.

One intriguing aspect of the case is that, just before the countess died, her son's suicide was erroneously reported in the local press.  Maurice is not only alive and well, he is incensed and keen to know who is responsible for this wicked practical joke.  The reported suicide turns out to be more than just a joke.  Maigret realises that whoever murdered the countess must also have passed the news of her son's demise on to the newspaper.  The intention was obviously to bring on a cardiac arrest when the old woman read the news of Maurice's apparent suicide in the paper.  It was a cunning plan, brilliantly executed - but who is the mastermind who concocted it?  Maigret assembles his suspects and unmasks the killer in their midst...