Night at the Crossroads (1932)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Night at the Crossroads (1932) – J. Renoir

Long before the mystery movie became standard fare – and predating film noir by a good decade or so -- Jean Renoir directed this Inspector Maigret mystery (from Georges Simenon). It’s an early sound film but it doesn’t feel stagebound – instead, the camera is out and about in the countryside, or more specifically, a muddy suburb of Paris where a few houses cluster around a dodgy petrol station and garage. We’re introduced to the community gradually – we don’t actually see Maigret (Pierre Renoir, the director’s brother) until the murder/robbery is discovered – but the characters we meet quickly turn on an immigrant couple (from Denmark) as chief suspects (based on xenophobia alone, it seems). But Maigret and his team soon realise that Carl Anderson is probably innocent and Maigret heads out to the suburb to get the lay of the land. Carl’s sister (played by Winna Winifried) hangs all over Maigret and other suspects act suspiciously. And then a strange thing happens – either a reel is missing or Renoir neglected to film some scenes (reports differ). Maigret closes in on the villain(s), there is a car chase, and the case is wrapped up.  Yet Renoir has captured a mood, shooting often at night, and although the mystery turns out not to matter as much, the film showcases Renoir’s talent and fits (between La Chienne, 1931, and Boudu Saved from Drowning, 1932) nicely into his amazing streak of masterpieces and near-masterpieces of the 1930s (topped off by The Grand Illusion, 1937, and The Rules of the Game, 1939). Although not the rare lost treasure I had hoped to discover, still a solid entry in the canon.