Poor Cecile
- Episode aired Oct 1, 1963
- 50m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
32
YOUR RATING
A spinster with an especial fondness for Inspector Maigret is murdered.A spinster with an especial fondness for Inspector Maigret is murdered.A spinster with an especial fondness for Inspector Maigret is murdered.
Photos
David Brewster
- Extra
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Featured review
A proper case for Maigret - 2 murders, & one or two murderers?
Saw this on the UK Talking Pictures channel, who are showing all 4 series of Maigret, originally early 60s BBC. We're in the 4th series now, and the quality has generally improved, this one no exception.
The previous 2 reviews tell different stories, the one by Prismark accurately reflects the depiction of Paris back in the 60s (when this series was made) - far from glamorous, and with lots of poverty - and of course the Simenon books came from an even earlier period! And the Mulkern review - doesn't state what the "overwrought" performances were supposed to be, perhaps the put-upon, desperate woman of the title, but that actually just reflects the story. And Joan Sanderson actually features quite a lot, albeit in voiceless flashbacks as the story unfolds for Maigret.
This case takes some unravelling, with 2 murders (one in the Police HQ!) and though Maigret and Lucas at first assume there is just the one killer, is that so?! There are family resentments and loyalties to untangle, a problem of the killer getting access through a supposedly locked door, an apartment block where most of the tenants know everyone else's business, and seemingly paper-thin walls (with floors and ceilings not much better!).
Maigret feels guilty that he didn't see one of the dead women when he had the chance (but as Lucas tells him - "you cannot be everywhere") and the last scene shows him recalling that, and stopping to see a visitor instead of getting home for sleep at 5 in the morning! There's also a nice human touch when Lucas, visiting a desperately poor family, gives the pregnant wife of one of the suspects some money, asking her "hey, when did you last eat"?
The previous 2 reviews tell different stories, the one by Prismark accurately reflects the depiction of Paris back in the 60s (when this series was made) - far from glamorous, and with lots of poverty - and of course the Simenon books came from an even earlier period! And the Mulkern review - doesn't state what the "overwrought" performances were supposed to be, perhaps the put-upon, desperate woman of the title, but that actually just reflects the story. And Joan Sanderson actually features quite a lot, albeit in voiceless flashbacks as the story unfolds for Maigret.
This case takes some unravelling, with 2 murders (one in the Police HQ!) and though Maigret and Lucas at first assume there is just the one killer, is that so?! There are family resentments and loyalties to untangle, a problem of the killer getting access through a supposedly locked door, an apartment block where most of the tenants know everyone else's business, and seemingly paper-thin walls (with floors and ceilings not much better!).
Maigret feels guilty that he didn't see one of the dead women when he had the chance (but as Lucas tells him - "you cannot be everywhere") and the last scene shows him recalling that, and stopping to see a visitor instead of getting home for sleep at 5 in the morning! There's also a nice human touch when Lucas, visiting a desperately poor family, gives the pregnant wife of one of the suspects some money, asking her "hey, when did you last eat"?
helpful•20
- Tony-Holmes
- Dec 5, 2022
Details
- Runtime50 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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