Detective Pierre Fresnay (Wens) goes to stay in a boarding house in the guise of a priest in order to catch a serial killer – Mr Durand. His annoying girlfriend Suzy Delair (Mila) also checks in and we meet a cast of characters who may or may not be the killer.The film starts well with the sequence of the drunk lottery winner in the bar and the mysterious woman wanting to befriend him. We follow his story but it is pretty short-lived. It's a gripping beginning and one that draws you into the film which, at this point, looks like it is going to be an effective thriller. The next memorable scene comes when the petty criminal is sitting on the bus shelter and insulting the policeman – very funny. However, that's where the comedy should have stopped. Unfortunately, the whole film descends into a comedy/mystery and so all tension is diffused and the audience just watches without any real emotional connection. It could have been so much better.There are other pluses - the dialogue is sharp and magician Jean Tissier (Triquet) lives in an amusing room cluttered with objects that are no longer functional - and minuses – Delair's voice is annoying and on my copy, the subtitles weren't quite in sync so it helped that I understood French so as to follow who was saying what. As entertainment, the film is an OK whodunit like many others.

What a smart film this is! It took me a while to get around after the proverbial rug was pulled from under my feet towards its climax. It is a thriller, but not just that. It is a comedy, but never distracting from the overall tone. It is intelligent, but doesn't take a cheat breather at the end to cover up writing inadequacies. A policeman has to catch a serial killer in two days. He has for company an ambitious woman who is far from qualified to be in situations she intends to be in. He has a clue. And he has a set of strange people amongst whom he feels he has his target. A fabulous whodunit ensues. Add to this the beautiful language of the French in what is a fairly verbose film, and you have an absolute must- see. Along with Laura, this is one of my favourite suspense thrillers from the 40s and I definitely recommend it.

This is a nice, light-hearted prelude to the masterpieces Henri-Georges Clouzot was to create in later years, starting right off in the following year with _Le Corbeau_.What unites both _Le Corbeau_ and _L'assassin habite au 21_, is the leading star Pierre Fresnay; he's excellent in both movies, although a lot more sombre in _Le Corbeau_ (of course), whereas here, he seems to be and behaves like a French variation of Cary Grant of the screwball era. (Indeed, he could have been intended to serve as just that, due to US movies being illegal in France at the time.) Another aspect uniting the two movies is their political sterility; no wonder, both having been made under German occupation of France; yet, funnily enough, it's possible to uncover political metaphors in both movies, although not as clearly here in _L'assassin habite au 21_, which is a comedy just as much as it is a murder mystery. So, you could try and uncover hidden meanings behind the police officers' "passing the buck" from one to another, everyone refusing to assume responsibility; or that (spoiler!) the culprit is shown to be a collective body of people, rather than an individual.The dialogues are witty, smart, fast-moving, and surprisingly fresh for a movie that is over 70 years old. Eroticism abounds. The supporting cast is nice, and Jean Tissier shines as Lallah Poor, the fakir.Very nice black-and-white cinematography, at times in pointedly plush settings (as if to distract the cinema-goers from the ongoing war); you get a nice overview of fashion of France in the early 1940s; see not just all the ladies in the movie (including the "matron" character played by Odette Talazac), but also the three little girls (the grocer's daughters) giggling in the audience -- where would you find kids dressed elaborately like that nowadays? Even though this is (also) a comedy, you can sense that the director has the touch for the "noir"; the scenes in Paris back alleys (particularly the murderous one at the beginning of the movie, shot from a unique "first-person" perspective) already show the proper atmosphere that was to make Clouzot famous in his later films. On the whole, therefore, _L'assassin habite au 21_ is a curious mixture and integration of at least 3 elements, each of them succeeding in its own right: comedy (particularly in exchanges between the detective and his girlfriend); Agatha Christie-like whodunnit; and noir overtones -- as if always looming in the background, and something a lot more sinister than your typical cozy domestic murder-mystery. The culprits are shown to be thoroughly nasty human beings, as if the director wanted to suggest: they are the rule, dear audience, rather than exceptions.The movie is only 84 minutes long, but feels longer due to all the rapid talk, fast action and rich content. Although _L'assassin habite au 21_ may not be great art, it's definitely an example of quality entertainment.

THE MURDERER LIVES AT NUMBER 21 - An early film from the great French writer- director Henri-Georges Clouzot. There is serial killer loose on the streets of Paris and the police seem unable to catch him. Every time he strikes he leaves a business card with the name M. Durand at the crime scene. The government leans on the mayor for action, he in turn leans on the Police chief who does the same to the chief of detectives and so on and so on. Having finally reached the bottom of the command structure we find a detective Wens. Wens is played by Pierre Fresnay. Wens is given a week to solve the case or resign. He catches a break when a 2nd rate burglar is brought in to be locked up. He is willing to trade some info for a get out of jail free. It seems that while he was pulling a job at a rooming house he found a box full of the M.Durand cards. He does not recall which room but gives the detective the house number and street. Early next morning Wens calls on the rooming house while disguised as a priest from the country. Over a meal he meets the other residents who are a who's who of mystery stereotypes. The writer, the toymaker, the doctor, the lounge singer, the out of work sideshow knife thrower etc. When one of the guests is done in he puts the grab on the knife man. Opps! While in custody there is another killing so out the door goes the knife thrower while the doctor is grabbed up. They are giving him the third degree when there is another murder. Out the door the doctor goes and in comes the toymaker! Finally Wens tumbles to the fact there is more than one killer. Every time one of their group is arrested they commit a new murder which causes the baffled cops to believe they have the wrong person.The rest of the cast includes, Suzy Delair, Jean Tissier, Jean Desqecux, Pierre Larqvey and Noel Roquevert.The whole film is like a noir version of the Thin Man series with a hint of comedy and some real racy (for 1942) dialogue. The cinematography is simply dazzling. The opening murder is as good a bit of film-making as i've ever seen. That this film was made in Paris during the Nazi occupation makes it all the more impressive.While not quite as good as some of Clouzot's later work, Manon, Quai des Orferes and Les Diaboliques it is highly entertaining.My 3 cents anyway,