Henri-Georges Clouzot - L'assassin habite au 21 aka The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1942)

Inspector Wens is on the trail of a serial killer who has committed four street killings in the space of a few months. The only clue is a visitor’s card signed "Monsieur Durand" found at the scene of each murder. Wens receives an unexpected tip-off that the murderer is living in a boarding house. Disguised as a cleric, he takes a room in the boarding house and finds that lodgers to be a very strange bunch indeed. One of them must be the murderer...





Clouzot’s first full length film is a mild contrast with the dark, suspense-laden thrillers for which the director is best known (Les Diaboliques, Le Salaire de la peur ), but it is an excellent example of the early polar genre of the 1940s. L'Assassin habite au 21 is a comedy thriller whodunnit which, although lighter than Clouzot’s later films, still manages to contain some disturbing moments. The great director’s technique is surprisingly mature and effective in this early film, the film’s opening five minutes or so being particularly gripping and shocking. The film shows his American film noir influence throughout, particularly in the atmospheric lighting and photography. Pierre Fresnay reprises the part of the charismatic Inspector Wens from his earlier film, Le Dernier des six (1941), which Clouzot also scripted. Suzy Delair also makes a welcome return as Wens' bubbly girlfriend, Mila Milou.
War-time censorship (from the Nazis and the paying public) was probably a major factor in determining the mood of the film. This could equally as well have been made as a very dark psychological thriller (in the vein that Clouzot adopted, to his peril, for his next film, Le Corbeau) Instead, a lighter approach was chosen, although curiously the humour in this film often seems to heighten rather than relieve the tension. Some of the characters who initially appear quite comic emerge as rather sinister individuals. Whether this contributed to the film’s success is anyone’s guess, but the film was certainly popular when it first shown and it established Clouzot's credentials as a film director. (filmsdefrance.com)







El asesino vive en el 21
Un misterioso asesino aterroriza París con sus crímenes en serie en los que deja una tarjeta con el nombre "Monsieur Durand". El inspector Vorobechik (apodado 'Wens') es asignado al caso y carece de pistas hasta que obtiene la información de que Durand es uno de los excéntricos huéspedes de la pequeña pensión familiar "Mimosa" ubicada en el n* 21 de la Avenida Junot, por lo cual toma una habitación en ella caracterizado como pastor protestante a la espera de que el asesino cometa un error. Su amante y aspirante a actriz Mila Malou decide obtener publicidad ayudándolo y lo sigue al lugar presentándose como su esposa aunque su aspecto difícilmente aparente el de la mujer de un pastor. Todos los huéspedes van siendo sucesivamente arrestados y dejados luego en libertad al ocurrir nuevos crímenes firmados mientras estaban detenidos...





L' Inspecteur Vorobechik ("Wens" en raccourci) se voit confier l' affaire d' un tueur en serie qui signe ses crimes en laissant sur ses victimes une carte de visite au nom de Monsieur Durand. la maîtresse de Wens, la bouillonante chanteuse Mila Malou, voit là une occasion de se faire de la publicité en aidant l'inspecteur. Ce dernier ayant appris que l'assassin est l' un des occupants d'une curieuse pension de famille, la pension Mimosa, située au 21 avenue Junot, y loue une chambre sous le déguisement d'un pasteur et ne tarde pas a être rejoint par Mila...





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