Inspecteur Lavardin (1986)

Inspector Lavardin is induced to investigate the murder of a province's notable who was taking himself as the moral guardian of his village. The perspective of the inquiry changes when the ... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Claude Chabrol, Dominique Roulet,

Stars:

Jean Poiret, Jean-Claude Brialy, Bernadette Lafont

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Poiret	...	Inspecteur Jean Lavardin
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Claude Alvarez
Bernadette Lafont	...	Hélène Mons
Jean-Luc Bideau	...	Max Charnet
Jacques Dacqmine	...	Raoul Mons
Hermine Clair	...	Véronique Manguin
Pierre-François Dumeniaud	...	Marcel Vigouroux
Florent Gibassier	...	Francis
Guy Louret	...	Buci
Jean Depussé	...	Volga
Marc Adam	...	Adam
Michel Dupuy	...	Frogman
Serge Feuillet	...	Priest
Michel Fontayne	...	Bouncer
Philippe Froger	...	Stage Manager

Storyline

Inspector Lavardin is induced to investigate the murder of a province's notable who was taking himself as the moral guardian of his village. The perspective of the inquiry changes when the inspector recognizes the widow as one of his youthful loves.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | gendarme | hypocrisy | gay brother | detective | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

France Switzerland

Language:

French

Release Date:

12 March 1986 (France)

Also Known As:

L'inspecteur Lavardin ou la justice

Filming Locations:

Dinan, Côtes-d'Armor, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

CAB Productions, Films A2, MK2 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows Poulet au vinaigre (1985)

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Soundtracks

"C'est pas trop tard"
Written by G. Dartoin / G. Malot

User Reviews

A pretty good detective film, with some very unconventional characters

This is actually rather a good, but not particularly noteworthy, detective movie. Chabrol re-uses a character of an earlier film, Inspecteur Lavardin from Poulet au Vinaigre, which was probably the most successful ingredient of that film. This later film is more entertaining and accessible than Poulet, primarily because it benefits from having a much better script, with more than a smattering of humour. In addition, the main characters are better drawn and acted than in Poulet. Of particular note are Jean-Claude Brialy playing Lavardin's outrageously camp and eccentric host, and Jean Poiret, now comfortably installed in the role of the unconventional, if not to say dangerous, detective Lavardin.

The plot is quite sophisticated, with some clever twists and turns. The unmasking of the murderer and the transfer of guilt are quite cleverly engineered, although the conclusion does raise some questions about Lavardin's (and Chabrol's?) own personal morality. That, coupled with Lavardin's somewhat brutal technique from extracting truth from the witnesses and suspects, can only serve to undermine his position as the good guy in any subsequent film.