Absolutely Brilliant!

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Executive producers: Irving Allen and Franchot Tone. Copyright 31 December 1949 by Allen and Tone Film Productions, Inc. Made in association with Gray Film. An Irving Allen-Franchot Tone Production, released in the U.S.A. and Australia through RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Criterion: 28 January 1950. U.S. release: 4 February 1950. U.K. release (through British Lion): 11 December 1950. Australian release: 16 February 1951. U.S. running time: 97 minutes. Australian length: 8,278 feet. 92 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Inspector Maigret outwits a hired killer. Setting: Paris. Time: 1949.COMMENT: Not only is this the only film wholly directed by Burgess Meredith, but at the time it was the only English-language Maigret picture. So The Man on the Eiffel Tower has a double curiosity value that would make it worth seeing even if it deserved its poor reputation.Of course that poor repute is totally undeserved anyway. The script is colorful and exciting and allows for splendid chases through the streets and over the roof tops of Paris, culminating in some amazingly daredevil stuntwork on top of the Eiffel Tower itself. Plucky Burgess Meredith even does many of his own stunts, including a leap from the top of a moving elevator that would do Douglas Fairbanks proud. If his performance is a trifle mannered, he makes up for it in inventive direction (assisted by Cortez's solidly atmospheric lighting) and inspired use of exciting Parisian locations.We have to wait a while for the main stars of this Simenon war of nerves to appear. A few of the lesser players like Hutton, Wallace (looking very glamorous) and Roc set the stage and then on comes Laughton - no Frenchman certainly but still a Maigret to the manner born. You can keep Pierre Renoir and Harry Baur and Jean Gabin. I'll take Laughton's sly, courteous, unflappable, jovial, concerned, conscientious Maigret as proof positive that superior acting overcomes national barriers. The consummate ease and naturalness with which Laughton invests his well-rounded characterization becomes even more apparent when we realize - thanks to the ineptitude of a couple of the other players - that all the dialogue has been post-synched and (in a few glaringly obvious cases) dubbed.Franchot Tone in an unusually unsympathetic role is also most convincing as the intellectual killer - a man who can size up his victim's weaknesses and use them for his own bitter ends.A pity Simenon's original French title, "A Man's Head", was not used. It has a double meaning which perfectly describes this bizarre, fascinating tale. If there be shortcomings in the picturization, they are of a minor, technical nature. The story moves fast, it is directed with considerable flair which makes atmospheric and thrilling use of a whole host of natural Parisian locations (the city is even billed as one of the "stars" of the film), it is edited with breathtaking pungency and is further enhanced by a rousingly suspenseful yet romantic music score by Michel Michelet.

I just received a wonderful copy of this film from TCM Shop. I was expecting a problem with the color, since a copy I had received from a fellow collector had strange color - pink for the sky and green in wrong places several years ago. (However, fingers crossed, I was hoping for an improvement).Though the film still has a disclaimer because of the ANCSCO Color problem, I was pleasantly surprised to see beautiful vivid color. Everything appears to be corrected as far as I can tell.THe acting of Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, and Burgess Meredith was superb. I also liked Patricia Roc, Belita, and Jean Wallace in their roles. Not only were they totally convincing, but the breathtaking views of the Eiffel Tower and gorgeous Paris scenes were quite intriguing. Every scene is vivid and interesting. It was a pleasure to see Wilfred-Hyde White as Radek's former professor who was even afraid of him! Though the film is quite serious, there is a little humor toward the beginning when a waiter in a cafe shows Robert Hutton to the bar, where his wife and "his little blonde" are waiting.As the basic plot of the film has been described in previous reviews, I will just briefly comment on this great film.This Film Noir has the viewer on the edge of their chair during the cat and mouse scenes where the taunting killer leads Inspector Maigret and his assistants on a wild chase through the streets of Paris and over the rooftops. The climatic scenes are very frightening as he climbs the Eiffel Tower, with the man he had framed (Burgess Meredith) close behind him in deadly pursuit.A highly entertaining and timeless film accompanied by very lovely music.

When I saw this one I was stumped because it seemed familiar. You know those films where the agitator/criminal taunts the police right in front of them and they have to figure out the clues while he sits and watches? This is one of those films. There are loads of films like this but the first I thought of was "Best Seller" with James Woods. Obviously the content is different but it's the same premise....Crook thinks he's smarter than the police and we wait for the forgone conclusion.A super smart sociopath overhears a couple at a bar. The guy says he wishes his Aunt were dead so he could inherit her money. The sociopath hears this and leaves a letter telling him he'll do it...and he does. This guy has no moral compass whatsoever. He preys on weak minded people his old professor says and he is just way smarter and always a few steps ahead of everyone else. He enlists the help of a hapless guy to rob the place at the same time. Of course the guy doesn't know it's a setup and they nail him for the murder. From this we get the sociopath taunting police. They know he's done it but he makes them figure it out themselves. He doesn't count on the head detective being so dogged and persistent. His downfall? He's talks too much and he's too smart for his own good.You would think with Charles Laughton in a film you would get an outstanding performance but in this...it's an average script and an average film. Laughton's talents were not wholly wasted...but mostly they were.Franchot Tone was certainly way past his prime by this time. He looks older in this than he actually is. It's not for the films sake it's who he was. By this time a pretty heavy drinker. He reminds me a lot of Robert Taylor. All looks and no substance and in this his old 30's style of acting was far out of place in this. It's not that he did a bad job but it's that they could have found a better actor to do it. Watching this you can tell it was done on a budget so seeing him in this wasn't a surprise.The real star of this film is the color film and landscape shots of Paris. This was filmed just a few years after WWII ended and you get to see, in color, how grimy and dingy it really was. There's a scene were Franchot Tone runs on the roofs of apartments and houses and it's just really dirty. Other shots show Paris as just not a very well kept city. Things may have changed by now but in this, it's a stark reality to see what it was like after the war.Not a bad film but when you see this, my guess would be that you'll say I've seen something like this before. There are lots of these films premises' out there but I think this was one of the first where the criminal taunts the police in plain site. It's OK, but don't expect an A+ experience. Just wait for the shots of Paris in color and gaze at what it was like back in 1948. At least that's worth a look.

I enjoyed this movie. I am a keen reader of the Maigret stories, but it didn't dawn on me that Charles Laughton was Maigret until late in the movie. Perhaps the French pronunciation of the name threw me off.The movie moved well, and I certainly enjoyed the shots of Paris right after the war. Maigret smoking his pipe and drinking his beer in the cafe gave me a good feeling. It's how I have always pictured Paris.Tone, Meredith and Laughton were all worth watching.I wish there were more movies made with Laughton playing the part of Maigret. However, Jean Garbin, the great French actor, later went on to make the role his own. He had time to refine his Maigret after many films. I saw the Garbin films over in Japan, but never here in the United states. States.