To all intents and purposes this WAS Clouzot's first directorial effort though technically he had three previous credits (one a short) in the very early thirties. The decade or so he spent writing screenplays for others to direct wasn't wasted so that when he became a hyphenate writer-director he turned out three masterpieces one after the other (L'Assassin habite au 21, Le Corbeau and Quai des Orfevres). This first entry transposes a novel set in London to Paris - presumably because the German-owned Production company Continental dictated so - creates a plum role for his then girl friend Suzy Delair and has a little fun with a popular genre. In short there is a serial killer on the loose with a penchant for leaving a calling card bearing the name M Durand at the scene of (presumably) his crimes. Attempting to get to the bottom of it is a detective who's a sort of cross between Philo Vance and Nick Charles, i.e. he lives in a plush apartment which suggests independent means a la Vance and indulges in some light banter with his girl friend a la Charles (although, of course, Nick was married to Nora). A tip leads him to a rooming house peopled by characters probably listed as 'off-the-wall' at Central Casting. The mood is gently satirical but the in-fighting amongst the police may well have been a comment on the state of a nation under Occupation as the 'everyone is guilty' solution was almost certainly an attack on the 'informer/collaborator' syndrome prevalent at the time. When viewed with Clouzot's next film, Le Corbeau, a much more 'serious' take on a similar theme - with 'poison pen' letters substituting for physical murder - the veiled comments on French society become much clearer. A great start to a great directorial career.
Review of The Murderer Lives at Number 21
