Cécile Is Dead

French director Maurice Tourneur, who also was responsible for the terrifically terrifying ‘The Hand of the Devil’ from 1943, has equally succeeded with his 1944 crime film CÉCILE IS DEAD which features Albert Préjean) in the role of Commissaire Maigret (yes, that Maigret) and the challenge of a particularly tricky case…

When CÉCILE IS DEAD got released in theatres, it was still during the war and tempers and sensibilities were on edge. Not only did the film meet with disapproval (both by critics and the public) as the ‘bourgeoisie’ was portrayed as depraved but actor Albert Préjean didn’t really fit the usual physical traits of Maigret: he wasn’t old enough nor his built stocky enough (in fact, his Maigret is rather agile and altogether on the energetic side) but whatever the criticism, author George Simenon himself gave his approval regarding Préjean portraying the famous detective. Furthermore, the film was made by the then German-controlled Continental Films which, it goes without saying, sank after the end of the war.

CÉCILE IS DEAD (original title CÉCILE EST MORTE) is a very clever whodunnit which keeps the viewers (and Maigret and his assistants) guessing, only for unexpected twists and turns to pile up as the story unfolds.

Cécile Pardon (Santa Relli) is a young and very nervous woman who is plagued by the notion that a nightly intruder either is after her life or that of her stingy old aunt, Madame Boynet (Germaine Kerjean) - a very rich dame who is wheelchair-bound and who treats Cécile, who lives in her aunt’s apartment as her carer, like a servant. Worse, Cécile’s brother Gérard (André Reybaz) is sky-high in debt and his young wife pregnant. Knowing that Boynet is loaded but can’t stand Gérard, he asks Cécile for help in securing 10,000 Francs from his aunt, which, it goes without saying, he doesn’t get despite his sister’s best efforts in persuading auntie to display a little charity. At the same time, Maigret dismisses Cécile’s increasing anxiety over a possible nightly intruder as hysteria, at one point even suggesting that she’s too old (she’s 25) to believe in ghosts. His colleagues at the police station poke fun at Cécile’s constant visits to Maigret and reckon that the real reason for her frequent visits is… well, she must fancy him.

When Maigret and his assistant Lucas (André Gabriello) are travelling on the Paris Metro in order to corner a counterfeit gang, they spot a naked woman lying on a bed just as the Metro passes a section that is overground. Assuming that the building might be a secret brothel, Maigret and Lucas get off the next stop in order to inspect the building and the room, never mind the counterfeiters. When the landlord opens the door to the room, the woman still lies on the bed… dead. Not only dead but her head is missing! Now it’s a murder case and Maigret and Lucas assume it must be the work of a serial killer, because over the past few months, other young women vanished without a trace. Maigret, together with his colleagues and Dr. Pierre (Marcel Carpentier) are tasked not only with establishing the victim’s identity but with finding her head… mon dieu! Imagine the surprise when eventually it emerges that the murdered woman was Cécile’s sister on her way to Paris! Did she hope to get some money from her aunt, too?

Things soon take a much more sinister turn when Madame Boynet is also found murdered in her room, with Cécile missing. Although Gérard is the main culprit, as he had every reason to murder his miserly aunt who refused to help him, the tide turns when it transpires that Madame wasn’t wheelchair bound at all and that she’s been in cahoots with a rather iffy looking gentleman named Dandurand (Jean Brochard), who lives underneath Madame Boynet’s apartment and was employed to look after her finances. But more is yet to come and the deeper Maigret digs, the more sinister the whole case gets…

This is terrific fun for amateur sleuths who love watching detective flicks and of course, the constant twists make this one hell of an exciting watch, not only because of the gripping plot but above all, the all ‘round satisfactory performances and the atmospheric noirish b/w photography.

CÉCILE IS DEAD has just been released on Blu-ray as a strictly limited edition (2,000 copies), housed in an O-card slipcase with Collector’s booklet. Additional bonus includes:
Introduction to the film by Christine Leteux, author of Maurice Tourneur: réalisateur sans frontières (2015) / New audio commentary by crime cinema expert Sergio Angelini / My Friend Maigret – new discussion of Inspector Maigret with film historian Martin Hall