Les Inconnus Dans La Maison (aka Strangers In The House) (1942)

After his wife runs off with another man, an alcoholic ex-attorney (Raimu) becomes disillusioned with life. He lives in a vast and gloomy mansion with his estranged daughter (Juliette Faber). One night they hear a gunshot coming from upstairs and discover a dead man lying on an old bed in the attic. Based on the novel by Georges Simenon (and adapted for the screen by Henri Georges Clouzot) and directed by Henri Decoin (LA VERITE SUR BEBE DONGE). This combination of whodunit and courtroom drama is an odd mixture. While the mystery aspects are there, the movie seems more interested in the sociological aspects of what led to the crime. As the bitter misanthrope, Raimu is perhaps overly passive for most of the film but that only makes his impassioned courtroom tirade all the stronger. Not an important piece of French cinema but an intriguing one nonetheless. Remade in 1967 with James Mason in Raimu's role. With Andre Reybaz, Marcel Mouloudji, Marc Doelnitz and Jean Tessier.