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Paris Vice Squad

Identite Judiciare stars Raymond Souplex as wily French police inspector Basquier. The villain is Berthet (Jean Debucourt), a high-ranking government official. Basquier suspects that Berthet is a vicious murderer, but is unable to prove anything thanks to bureaucratic interference. Thus, the good inspector plays a waiting game a la Columbo, hoping for that one fatal slip on the part of the killer. Certain portions of Identite Judiciare proved a bit too intense for American audiences, and were accordingly snipped by the censors.

Paris Vice Squad

5.4 1951
We Are All Murderers

Originally titled Nous Sommes Tout des Assassins, We Are All Murderers was directed by Andre Cayette, a former lawyer who detested France's execution system. Charles Spaak's screenplay makes no attempt to launder the four principal characters (Marcel Mouloudji, Raymond Pellegrin, Antoinine Balpetre, Julien Verdeir): never mind the motivations, these are all hardened murderers. Still, the film condemns the sadistic ritual through which these four men are brought to the guillotine. In France, the policy is to never tell the condemned man when the execution will occur--and then to show up without warning and drag the victim kicking and screaming to his doom, without any opportunity to make peace with himself or his Maker. By the end of this harrowing film, the audience feels as dehumanized as the four "protagonists." We Are All Murderers was roundly roasted by the French law enforcement establishment, but it won a special jury prize at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival.

We Are All Murderers

6.7 1952
Pas de souris dans le business

Without seeming to touch it, journalist Trupeau is interested in the doings of Mireille, a jewelry store saleswoman. A certain Jojo is hanging around the young girl, and not for the right reasons, but to pull off a "heist". Although one of his men betrays him and has to be shot, Jojo succeeds. The police investigate, question and pursue Mireille. Exasperated and disillusioned, the pretty salesgirl shoots Jojo. Fortunately, the journalist is there to prove that she's as white as an ermine. And the ch timents rain down on the culprits.

Pas de souris dans le business

9.0 1955
Savage Triangle

Based on the novel of the same name by writer Edouard Peisson, this Jean Delannoy film display one boy’s unconditional love for his mother, despite her tragic mistreatment of him. After being raised by a shepherd for the past 12 years, Simon (Pierre-Michel Beck) is reunited with his mother Marie (Madeleine Robinson). Marie is a prostitute in Marseilles and is now stable enough to welcome Simon back into her life. Unaware of her profession at first, Simon is happy to have his mom back, but in time he learns how she makes her living. This troubles Simon but he continues to love her, despite not loving her chosen profession. His anger toward this issue gets directed toward Marie’s louse of a boyfriend, Paul (Frank Villard), and the result is a heartfelt tale about love and family.

Savage Triangle

6.5 1951
Death Threat

André Garnier, a young pianist, who was sent to deportation following a denunciation, absolutely wants to find his informer. He falls in love with Hélène, the mistress of a wealthy industrialist, Bernier, in whom he soon discovers the man who once sold him to the Gestapo. Bernier is soon found murdered. André deflects suspicion on Jacques, the victim's secretary. Hélène and André's affair ends up being discovered by the police, who seem to see in it the motive for the crime. André surrenders to justice.

Death Threat

8.5 1950
Stain on the Snow

"La neige était sale" is based on a novel and play by the phenomenally prolific Georges Simenon. Upon learning that his mother was a prostitute, Frank (Daniel Gélin) dejectedly vows that he, too, will live a life of debauchery. Part of his self-degradation program is to kill someone, and since the story takes place during the Nazi occupation of France, he chooses a German officer as his victim. His steady descent into psychosis and depravity becomes his ultimate undoing.

Stain on the Snow

6.3 1954