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Rating: "L'assassino abita al 21" is the cinematic debut of H.G. Clouzot, a great French director from times long past.
Like all great people, he lives above the rooftops, oh no sorry those are the cats... I was saying like all the great, he hits the mark on the first try, the talent is already evident, indeed.
It's a 1942 film and what struck me is its extraordinary modernity. Which then, modernity isn't the right word for me, at least not for me who writes. I will therefore use a more fitting term: "cool". Yes, "L'assassino abita al 21" is a COOL film, very cool.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Stanislas-André Steeman. In the novel, the story is set in London and the killer signs as Mr. Smith.
Here we are in Paris and the killer signs as Monsieur Durand.
There's this killer who has been terrorizing Paris for a while. Yes, basically, he kills people and is uncatchable, a ghost, no trace, or rather just one: he leaves his business card next to the corpse: Monsieur Durand, indeed.
The prologue is anthology-worthy. A drunken tramp who won the lottery and squanders his cash is chased, after a night of revelry, by Durand whom we don't see. But we are Durand, the scene is shot in first person, the first-person perspective of the killer. Extraordinary. This technique will be taken up and elaborated by many directors, such as Dario Argento.
The film thus opens as a true thriller, or noir, given the latitude, and the scene of the first murder is quite unsettling if we want, yet, the tone and style that characterize it are undoubtedly those of a comedy. A very brilliant comedy, I'd say.
This aspect struck me positively. As in his subsequent films, such as "Il Corvo" and "I Diabolici", here too we find ourselves in front of a choral film. The gallery of characters in this film is varied, surprising, priceless.
There's the indispensable inspector investigating, Wenceslas Wens, played by Pierre Fresnay (guys, this actor is formidable, really) he will be Dr. Germain in "Il corvo" and even there, in fact, in "Il corvo" I think even more, he will show an acting ability of a very high level, if nothing else in relation to today's standards. I mean, Fresnay and many actors of his age group, they easily surpass many actors today who are hailed as superstars...
There's Wens' wife, Mila Malou (Suzy Delar) very funny, half-crazy, who wants to break through as an operetta singer and for that she needs to first gain notoriety and will start investigating herself to hunt down the killer unbeknownst to her husband. If she manages to capture him, she will become the woman who caught Monsieur Durand! Everyone will want to cast her for the lead role in the theater, right?
So, we are sure, the title already tells us, the killer lives at 21! He finally slipped up, left a trace! Specifically, at number 21 of the pension "Le Mimose"... The inspector will go there as a guest, in disguise (he will be a priest). Thus we will meet the guests living at 21. And here it is, the crazy gallery of characters mentioned above. The hostess, a resolute matron with no filter. Her waiter who imitates bird calls, oh he's very good, isn't he? Then there are the guests: a magician, a craftsman, a blind man and his caretaker, an old soldier, a middle-aged, still-chaste writer... One of them is the killer!
Okay, that's it, I won't say anything more.
The film has a rhythm, I don't know... I, with music, you know, can't write. It has a ROCK rhythm, Celentano would say. If we dare with classical instead, then it's an allegro tempo, very lively. But it's also a symphony, because, as in other films by Clouzot, the film grows, more and more, especially in the final minutes, when the mystery is revealed and, as in his subsequent films, the twist will be sensational...
Fun fact: the poster of this film appears in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds".
Don't go on wiki as it spoils the ending with its usual nonchalance.
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