The Fontenay Murders

I certainly raised a wry eyebrow when I saw the name of the director. Alan Bridges went on to direct movies for the cinema such as The Shooting Party.

I think Bridges was bored of the script. Instead he went for a stylised visual approach for the story.

It did not really work but at least it added a somewhat surreal touch.

Maigret and Lucas talking while the window of the police station is being smashed by rocks. Madame Vernoux walking in a mannered way past the camera.

The story was another family psychodrama. Maigret has gone away from Paris to meet up with an old friend.

The town is reeling from the murder of Robert de Courçon. Later there are several other deaths.

The police want Maigret to get involved in the investigation. Robert de Courçon was the brother in law of the wealthy Hubert Vernoux.

The latter was regarded as a collaborator with the Nazis during the war. Vernoux are not a popular family as the town had many people rebelling against the Nazis.

Even Robert de Courçon disliked his brother in law. The locals are getting rowdy and want to dish out their own justice. Hubert's son is the target.

I did feel the presentation could had been better. Maybe the story was difficult to adapt into a 50 minutes episode.

Some of the acting was hysterical. I bet Mr Grimsdale never had such problems!

Much as I want to like this series (and in the performances of Maigret and Lucas there is much to like) episodes like this one don't make it easy.

Simenon's story is dark, dealing with personal misery, class conflict, family feuds, and ramifications of the war. Or at least that seems to be what he wanted to appear to be doing. Actually he was stringing out a meagre plot by affecting to be a cross between Poe and Dostoevsky.

Putting all that on screen within the technical limitations of 1963 TV was never to going to be a great success and so we have the set designer's attempt at gloomy, unhappy, gothic, aristocratic mansions combining with the lighting designer's need to avoid viewers of the 405-line output ringing the BBC to complain that the picture had gone ( a real and documented fear that underlaid approaches to studio lighting at the time ) resulting in something akin to an Ideal Home Exhibition stand using candles in a power cut while, as usual, the residences of the lower orders come across as a telephone box being used as a store room for a junk shop.

However all of the above does not excuse the lame attempts by director and actors to do angst which pretty much amount just to doing slow. Performances of the low standard on view in this episode hark back to the dire offerings of Series 1 which are much less common in Series 2 and Series 3. Alan Rowe as Alain Vernoux gives us a particularly embarrassing audition-style turn that surely would never have got him into RADA and the non-hidden choreography of the angry mob in the studio scenes suggests that the director fancies doing updated Greek tragedy at the Royal Court.

As the series progresses, one significant improvement is the increased and better use of film for location scenes but here some quite bizarre things go on in film inserts depicting a mob in the town square who manhandle cars from A to (not far away) B to no apparent purpose and courteously let the occupants get out for a chat.

Definitely one for the Jukebox Jury klaxon.

Or is it impressionist? From the start in a crowded train we glimpse Maigret over shoulders, behind furniture. He is staying with his old friend Judge Chabot, a timid and kind man beautifully played by Alan Wheatley ("Fred" in Brighton Rock). His old mother is also well portrayed, reminiscing about 30-year-old marriages and "three beautiful children". Fontenay is haunted by memories of the war, and the German officer billeted at the grand house, "a charming man" who had resistance members shot. Maigret seems miserable throughout as everyone expects him to solve some local murders. Of course he does in the end, but the grim family secrets uncovered depress him even more than usual.

Saw this on the UK Talking Pictures channel, who are showing all 4 series of Maigret, originally early 60s BBC. We're now in the last series, and the quality has generally improved, but sadly this one was derived from one of Simenon's more gloomy family psychological studies, and was a hard watch, especially as the director seemed to be working out his fantasies of odd camera angles, and wildly over-stylised performances.

I find myself almost agreeing with the review of 'Sir Obbolong Fitzybolongs' - and that's almost a first, though he still doesn't fully appreciate the limits of budgets and (low!) tech in those early 60s!

The review of Lucy Fisher is more accurate, though I can't give this such a generous rating. In fairness, I think the book would likely be one of the harder reads of the Maigret series?

One highlight was the scene (a phone call) where Maigret called Mrs Maigret at home, and - for the best of comic reasons - she got the message to Lucas rather muddled. Very nicely played, and about the only time that Davies didn't look glum in the whole show - I suspect he didn't think much of that director's efforts either?

The end scene where the 2 snooty women in that blighted household walked away down their country house hall in a strange slow-motion choreography summed up much of the episode! Hopefully the series gets back on track with the next one?!