FILM SCREENINGS

The Murderer Lives at Number 21

1942. France. Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. Screenplay by Clouzot, based on the novel by Stanislas-André Steeman. With Suzy Delair, Pierre Fresnay, Jean Tissier. After scripting the successful mysteries Le Dernier des six and Strangers in the House, Clouzot demonstrated his own directorial flair for the genre. Belgian novelist Steeman’s Maigret-like detective Wens disguises himself as a clergyman to investigate a rash of murders at a boarding house, all committed by the mysterious “Monsieur Durand.” True to form, Clouzot’s L’Assassin is a film of counterpoints, with Tissier, Pierre Larquey, and Noël Roquevert comprising a rather sinister trio of suspicious characters, and Fesnay and Delair as their comic foils. 84 min.