Margaret Tyzack was a bloody good actress, always, and her presence enlivens this tortuous episode about murder and family sins. The great Joyce Carey also dignifies this instalment while Emrys James and Robert Gillespie are strong as unsavoury characters; startlingly (director) Mike Leigh turns up briefly as a young bargee who cannot speak. PM.
5 Reviews
The piano music
pumpexch12 July 2022
Does anyone know the name of the piano piece the women play? The episode is a good example of Simenon's unique approach to crime fiction. He examines the psychology of people who commit serious crime. Rupert Davies was acknowledged by Simenon as "my Maigret". You can see why.
Maigret struggles with a cold, controlling woman
Tony-Holmes13 November 2022
Saw this on the UK Talking Pictures channel, who are showing all 4 series of Maigret, originally early 60s BBC. We're in the 4th series now, and the quality has generally improved, this one no exception.
A local girl has disappeared (somewhere by a river in Northern France). A Flemish family, whose shop serves the often Flemish barge people, is greatly disliked, and blamed for the 'murder' - though at first the girl is just missing.
Maigret and Lucas are resented by the local police, whose chief first takes the obvious line, then seizes on several red herrings the case throws up. A barge owner claims to be a witness -- but the lights were out the night he claims to have seen the murder! And later he turns up drowned! Was the daughter of the family, an apprentice nun who'd been visiting when the girl apparently disappeared, perhaps a crucial witness?
The girl HAS been murdered, turns up downstream, had been killed before entering the water, but there are more motives than meet the eye, her brother, who stands to lose his blackmail money, or was it the bargee, tried to have his way with her?
Through the case, Maigret has to match wits with Margaret Tyzack, the strong woman of the family, determined to marry her son into some local money. Could the dead girl - who'd had a child - have been a threat to that marriage? Gradually Maigret gets into her head, and there's a nice twist ending.
Poor Lucas gets unusually cruel treatment through this one, missing a breakfast, and a dinner, and doomed to get his feet wet after the local flooding. But it's all very well played, apart perhaps from the old crone who was looking after the illegitimate child, seemed to be reading her lines off a card by the camera?! Robert Gillespie makes an appearance too, latterly in umpteen sitcoms, but here the dead girl's sleazy brother. An excellent episode!
A local girl has disappeared (somewhere by a river in Northern France). A Flemish family, whose shop serves the often Flemish barge people, is greatly disliked, and blamed for the 'murder' - though at first the girl is just missing.
Maigret and Lucas are resented by the local police, whose chief first takes the obvious line, then seizes on several red herrings the case throws up. A barge owner claims to be a witness -- but the lights were out the night he claims to have seen the murder! And later he turns up drowned! Was the daughter of the family, an apprentice nun who'd been visiting when the girl apparently disappeared, perhaps a crucial witness?
The girl HAS been murdered, turns up downstream, had been killed before entering the water, but there are more motives than meet the eye, her brother, who stands to lose his blackmail money, or was it the bargee, tried to have his way with her?
Through the case, Maigret has to match wits with Margaret Tyzack, the strong woman of the family, determined to marry her son into some local money. Could the dead girl - who'd had a child - have been a threat to that marriage? Gradually Maigret gets into her head, and there's a nice twist ending.
Poor Lucas gets unusually cruel treatment through this one, missing a breakfast, and a dinner, and doomed to get his feet wet after the local flooding. But it's all very well played, apart perhaps from the old crone who was looking after the illegitimate child, seemed to be reading her lines off a card by the camera?! Robert Gillespie makes an appearance too, latterly in umpteen sitcoms, but here the dead girl's sleazy brother. An excellent episode!
The Flemish Shop
epigraph5516 August 2022
Pumpexch asks what the piano piece was. Solveig's Sing by Grieg.
Many Simenon books prove a challenge for dramatists. Like the Reluctant Witnesses this is one such. They don't do too badly.
I wonder how much Simenon's regard of Davies as "My Maigret" has to do with him being a top pipe smoker . . . That would impress Georges, an inveterate pipe man himself. Rupert certainly conveys that cerebral image you get in the books.
Many Simenon books prove a challenge for dramatists. Like the Reluctant Witnesses this is one such. They don't do too badly.
I wonder how much Simenon's regard of Davies as "My Maigret" has to do with him being a top pipe smoker . . . That would impress Georges, an inveterate pipe man himself. Rupert certainly conveys that cerebral image you get in the books.
The Flemish Shop
Prismark1017 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Featuring a brief acting appearance of seven times Oscar nominated writer and director Mike Leigh.
The Peeters are a proud Flemish family who are unpopular with the locals. The do good business in their shop from travelling Flemish bargees.
Joseph Peeters is studying to be a lawyer in Nancy and is meant to get married to a simpleton girl Marguerite.
However Joseph is widely regarded to have fathered a child with another young woman. She has now disappeared and thought to be murdered.
Maigret comes to town to investigate. The Peeters family seem to be tight knit and is dominated by the mother Anna. Daughter Maria, a novice nun is packed off to a convent to keep her out of Maigret's grasp.
Gerard, the brother of the missing girl hoped to make money out of the Peeters and Joseph's paternity.
Another episode that gives a wonderful atmosphere of French life away from Paris. The Flemish are outsiders and in this case regarded as wealthy.
Liberties have been taken from the novel where Maigret had a suspect but no proof. In the television adaptation, Maigret pressurises the suspect to eventually do the right thing.
Anna is a driven woman. Maigret notes the way Joseph is described as some great intellectual. The mismatch when the character appears onscreen.
The Peeters are a proud Flemish family who are unpopular with the locals. The do good business in their shop from travelling Flemish bargees.
Joseph Peeters is studying to be a lawyer in Nancy and is meant to get married to a simpleton girl Marguerite.
However Joseph is widely regarded to have fathered a child with another young woman. She has now disappeared and thought to be murdered.
Maigret comes to town to investigate. The Peeters family seem to be tight knit and is dominated by the mother Anna. Daughter Maria, a novice nun is packed off to a convent to keep her out of Maigret's grasp.
Gerard, the brother of the missing girl hoped to make money out of the Peeters and Joseph's paternity.
Another episode that gives a wonderful atmosphere of French life away from Paris. The Flemish are outsiders and in this case regarded as wealthy.
Liberties have been taken from the novel where Maigret had a suspect but no proof. In the television adaptation, Maigret pressurises the suspect to eventually do the right thing.
Anna is a driven woman. Maigret notes the way Joseph is described as some great intellectual. The mismatch when the character appears onscreen.
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