Panique (1946)

A social recluse (Michel Simon) isn't liked by the residents of the Paris neighborhood where he resides. He's anti-social and keeps to himself. But when an elderly old maid is murdered, he seems like an easy target to pin the murder on. When a beautiful ex-convict (Viviane Romance) moves into the neighborhood, it will prove his undoing. Based on the novel LES FIANCAILLES DE M. HIRE by Georges Simenon and directed by Julien Duvivier. This superb film noir is as good as any of the noirs Hollywood was churning out in the 1940s. Simon's Hire is creepy and unlikable which makes it hard for us to empathize with him but the furious mob mentality of the townspeople forces us overcome our loathing of of Hire and outrage over the kind of unreasonable actions of a rabble that takes the law into their own hands. There is some argument that the film reflects the collaboration of the French with the Germans during the war but I didn't see it that way. But the film's subtext aside, it remains a riveting thriller. Remade in 1989 by Patrick Leconte as MONSIEUR HIRE. With Paul Bernard, Max Dalban, Emile Drain and Lita Recio.