The good friend who gave me this film - and boy, was he glad to get rid of it - remarked that perhaps I would feel more kindly towards it than he did. Alas, no. It's billed as a thriller but you'll find more thrills in The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg. It also stars Charles Vanel which is a criminal waste of talent. Vanel - who lived to be 97 - had one of the longest and most distinguished careers in French cinema but God knows why he signed on for this turkey. He spends virtually all his screen time with a pipe clamped in his mouth as if auditioning for Maigret, indeed a good 90 per cent of the 'action' consists of people TALKING, in twos, threes, or groups. It does have a promising opening two minutes with some nice noirish shots of falling leaves and black cobblestones but it soon becomes clear that Dreville cut these in from another film. For insomniacs who've tried everything else; this will work, trust me.
Review of Les suspects
