7 French Noirs for Those Long Cold Winter Nights
The French were making their own postwar brand of dark, downbeat, terse, vivid, chic, and cynical criminal melodramas before anyone ever heard the term “French Noir”.
georges simenon
French Wartime Noir ‘Strangers in the House’ Haunts
Whether as a star vehicle, a Simenon mystery, a wartime allegory, or merely a studio product, Strangers in the House is a rewarding French film that’s gone largely unnoticed.
Jean Gabin as Inspector Jules Maigret Gets the Job Done
Jean Gabin’s Inspector Jules Maigret lets everyone else emote, sometimes hysterically, until he vents his own anger in the final revelations.
Credibility Not Required or Desired: ‘Cop-Out’ and ‘The High Commissioner’
These two films fall on the disposable but fun end of the spectrum of sophisticated thrillers.