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Category Archives: France
PIETR THE LATVIAN (1931) by Georges Simenon
This novel marked the official literary debut of Detective Chief Inspector Jules Amédée François Maigret of the Paris Police Judiciaire when it first appeared in serial form in the summer and autumn of 1930. It was however the fifth in … Continue reading
The Marseille Contract (1974)
This unpretentious thriller, running just under 90 minutes and released in the US as The Destructors, was shot on location in France and features Michael Caine as a professional assassin, Anthony Quinn as a US intelligence agent and James Mason … Continue reading
Posted in Film Noir, France, Noir on Tuesday, Paris, Tuesday's Overlooked Film
28 Comments
OUR GAME (1995) by John le Carré
After several globe-trotting excursions, including The Little Drummer Girl (1983), The Russia House (1989) and The Night Manager (1993), John le Carré got back to basics in this very compact spy novel which doesn’t set foot outside UK until the … Continue reading
Posted in England, Espionage, France, John le Carre, London, Russia
37 Comments
DEATH IN THE CLOUDS (1935) by Agatha Christie
I rarely review Christie’s books, mainly because her work is already so well covered out there on the blogosphere. But now that my amazing oldest niece (of two, by 12 minutes) is getting into crime fiction, its time for one … Continue reading
The romance of Brian De Palma
The following revisit of a favourite film and director is offered for the Brian De Palma Blogathon being hosted by Ratnakar Sadasyula at his site, Seetimaar – Diary of a Movie Lover from 11 to 21 September to celebrate the great filmmaker’s birthday … Continue reading
And Soon the Darkness (1970) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Movie
Made on location in the Loire Valley in France, this 99-minute thriller takes a simple, stripped down concept – two people on a biking holiday become isolated and fear they are being stalked by a killer – and then stretches … Continue reading
Posted in Brian Clemens, France, Tuesday's Overlooked Film
Tagged Danziger brothers, The Avengers, The Professionals
42 Comments
Hitchock in the 60s and 70s – time to vote
Hitchcock’s life and career changed forever with the release of Psycho in 1960. Made on a tight budget, its enormous success made him a very wealthy man and saw him change studios to Universal for the rest of his career. … Continue reading
Posted in 'In praise of ...', Alfred Hitchcock, Amnesia, Boston, Cold War, Cuba, Daphne Du Maurier, Ed McBain, Espionage, Film Poll, France, Germany, London, New York, Norway, Paris, Psycho, Robert Bloch, San Francisco, Spy movies, Sweden, Washington DC
63 Comments
1950s Hitchcock – vote for the best
This was the decade when Hitchcock truly became a superstar – along with a string of critically acclaimed and commercially successful films he became the host of his own TV shows Alfred Hitchcock Presents (and later, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), … Continue reading
PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES (1961) by Hubert Monteilhet
I recently went to see Phoenix, Christian Petzold’s new film starring Nina Hoss. Despite it being rather heavy-going I found much to ponder in its strange story of lost identities in post-war Germany, but had a weird, niggling sensation that … Continue reading
Posted in 2016 Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt, France, Germany, Paris, Tuesday's Overlooked Film
Tagged Herbert Lom, Maximilian Schell
32 Comments
THE GARDEN PARTY AND OTHER STORIES by Katherine Mansfield
Here is a brief review for a title that might seem like an unexpected choice for a blog mostly dedicated to crime and mystery fiction, but … A good mate of mine gave me this book as a present in … Continue reading
READY REVENGE (1960) by Catherine Arley
The French writer Catherine Arley is best known for Woman of Straw, one of only a few of her thrillers to have made it into English. Ready Revenge was translated by Virginia Graham and when it was published by Random House … Continue reading
Top 25 Courtroom Movies
As I have blogged before, I love legal drama on the screen. Maybe it’s because I trained to be a lawyer (in the interests of full disclosure, my legal background informs the work I do in education in terms of … Continue reading
Posted in 'Best of' lists, Australia, California, England, France, India, Scott Turow, Tuesday's Overlooked Film
Tagged Billy Wilder, George Clooney, Glenn Close, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, John Travolta, Julia Roberts, Katharine Hepburn, Kirk Douglas, Lee Remick, Merlene Dietrich, Meryl Streep, Nigel Hawthorne, Orson Welles, Paul Newman, Tilda Swinton
73 Comments
DEAD MAN’S BAY (1953) by Catherine Arley
This tale of psychological suspense marked the literary debut of Catherine Arley (the pen name of Pierrette Pernot), who celebrated her 90th birthday last December. Originally published in France as Tu Vas Mourir (and later reissued as Mourir sans toi), it appeared … Continue reading
The Full Treatment (1960) – Tuesday’s overlooked film
This tale of psychological turmoil is fairly intriguing to start with but does get a bit bogged down before becoming thrillerish a bit too late in the game. It was the last in a run of popular films that writer-director … Continue reading
Posted in Film Noir, France, Hammer Studios, Tuesday's Overlooked Film, Val Guest
Tagged Val Guest
18 Comments
HE WHO WHISPERS (1946) by John Dickson Carr
This classic Golden Age detective story features a seemingly impossible murder and came top of the 2014 John Dickson Carr poll, somewhat to my surprise. I hadn’t read it in a while (well, try 30 years actually, and only in … Continue reading
The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949)
Charles Laughton plays Inspector Maigret in this highly atypical Hollywood movie, shot in colour and on location in Paris. Despite a cast that includes Franchot Tone and Burgess Meredith (who also took over as director at the last-minute), this is … Continue reading
Fedora (1978) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film
I had to review this film for its title alone! But it’s also a great movie, well worth 2 hours of your time (it’s just been released on Blu-ray). Based on the eponymous novella by Thomas Tryon – the actor-turned-author … Continue reading
Try This One for Size (1989) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film
This amusing comedy-thriller was the first of a quartet of films starring Michael Brandon derived from the work of euro noir legend, James Hadley Chase. Set in the double-dealing world of smugglers and dodgy art dealers, this one brought Paradise City detective Tom … Continue reading
Top 20 Amnesia Mystery Movies
Whether it’s the intrigue of Jason Bourne adventures or the farcical escapades of the Hangover films, memory loss remains a popular narrative device in fiction in general and at the cinema in particular. Here is a guide to my top 20 favourite … Continue reading
Posted in 'Best of' lists, Alfred Hitchcock, Amnesia, Billy Wilder, Boileau-Narcejac, Charlie Chan, England, Eric Ambler, France, Greece, Hammer Studios, James Hilton, Jimmy Sangster, John Frankenheimer, Len Deighton, London, Los Angeles, LP Davies, New York, Orson Welles, San Francisco, Spain, Tuesday's Overlooked Film
Tagged Robert Ludlum
88 Comments
Mr Arkadin (1955) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film
In considering this quirky and delirious movie and book by Orson Welles, I am reminded of Winston’s Churchill’s quote about pre-war Russia: “It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.” Arkadin … Continue reading
Police Python 357 (1976) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film
Also known as The Case Against Ferro, this French policier was adapted (uncredited) from Kenneth Fearing’s classic suspense novel, The Big Clock. It stars Yves Montand as a cop who carries the eponymous Colt Magnum once favoured by law enforcement … Continue reading
The Sicilian Clan (1969) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film
As a youngster this thriller really got my attention. Sure, the fleeting nudity probably had something to do with it and the hypnotic Ennio Morricone score is truly unforgettable but this was a film where crooks, thieves, murderers and cops all … Continue reading
Posted in Ennio Morricone, France, Jean Gabin, Tuesday's Overlooked Film
Tagged Alain Delon, Ennio Morricone, Irina Demick, Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura
26 Comments
The Passion of Brian De Palma
Well, there is a slight change to our usual schedule today as it’s my birthday, which means I am officially in my mid forties … good grief! So I could commemorate this august moment just by joining a gym (of … Continue reading
THE LIVING AND THE DEAD (1954) by Boileau-Narcejac
Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narjejac’s mysteries in the 1950s and 60s were admired for their great plot ingenuity but not for their plausibility. This is certainly the case with their third novel, a morbid tale with a giant twist adapted … Continue reading
MAIGRET SETS A TRAP (1955) by Georges Simenon
A psychopath is stalking the women of a small district in Paris and Jules Maigret of the Police Judiciaire is under pressure to find the culprit. Pretty soon, after a failed attack, an arrest is made – but then another … Continue reading
In Your Hands – Tuesday’s Forgotten Film
Kristin Scott Thomas is the woman in jeopardy in this unusual suspense movie. It opens with a nervy bravura sequence, dialogue-free and shot hand-held, charting her return home in a highly agitated state. She is days late getting back from … Continue reading
Les Seins de glace (1974) – Tuesday’s Forgotten Film
On Friday I reviewed Richard Matheson’s debut novel Someone is Bleeding (click here to read it), a pretty decent whodunit spiced up with some less convincing post-war cod Freudian psychologising. The novel was filmed in France and released there in … Continue reading
Fedora’s 200,000 visits
Where does the time go? This site just passed another milestone at the beginning of this week with its 200,000th visit! Flabbergasting is the word. To celebrate, here is Alain Delon sporting one of my favourite fedoras in action in … Continue reading
Posted in 'In praise of ...', France, Scene of the crime
34 Comments
THE YELLOW DOG (1931) by Georges Simenon
This is one the first Maigret novels. Georges Simenon chronicled some 100 of his cases over a period of 40 years but initially churned them out in a blaze of activity – indeed this was the first of seven Maigret … Continue reading
Tipping My Fedora 