Cécile is Dead — Cécile is Dead (Blu Ray)
Cécile is Dead is an early 1940’s French detective mystery- blending in touches of noir, and light brushes of humour. It’s a decidedly dialogue-heavy affair, with a fair few suspects for the murder of three women being investigated by the cool, calm, and pipe-smoking Inspector Maigret. Here from Eurkea’s Master Of Cinema series is a Blu Ray release of the film, taking in HD scan, a new commentary track, and a mix of new archive extras.
Cécile is Dead ( Cécile est morte!) is from the year 1944. It was directed by Paris-born Maurice Tourneur. Between the early 1910’s and late 1940’s, he had an impressive eight six feature credits. These include romantic comedy The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England(1914), sea-set drama thriller The Ship of Lost Men (1929), comedy drama regarding a man looking for his lost sons Sins of Youth (1941), and crime-drama Dilemma of Two Angels (1948).
The film was based on a novel by Georges Simenon. In total, Inspector Maigret appeared in seventy-five novels and twenty short stories written over five decades, along with innumerable radio, film and television appearances.
The film kicks off with Cécile (Santa Relli), a determined twentysomething woman making her way to cites main police station, to see the dark brill creamed haired, hat-wearing, and pipe-puffing Inspector Maigret (Albert Préjean). We find out that she has been going to the police station most days- to complain that someone moves around her apartment, when she’s not in/ asleep.
Living in the same apartment building as Cécile is her bossy/ pretending to be wheelchair-bound aunt Madame Boynet (Germaine Kerjean). Her brother Gérard (André Reybaz), who has money woes as his wife is about to give birth, and he’s overdue on his mortgage.
As the film unfolds, the first woman is found dead, decapitated, with her head missing- this is followed by two other murders, with one of these being, of course, Cécile. As the deaths mount, we get a fair few possible suspects brought into the fray.
I’d say first and foremost, this is a detective mystery- with visual touches of noir in its moody use of light & shadow. We get light touches of humour, which are largely brought in by Maigret's tubby/ bumbling/ saying the wrong thing partner. So, as a result, I’d say you’ll get the most out of Cécile is Dead if you enjoy dialogue/plot-heavy investigation
The region B Blu-ray features a new HD print of the film- this gives wonderful depth and clarity to the black and white stock. The English subtitles are easy to read, and there’s an even mix between the French language dialogue and score.
On the extras side, we get a few new things. First is a commentary by crime cinema expert Sergio Angelini, host of the Tipping My Fedora podcast. He starts by declaring that, aside from Sherlock Holmes, Maigret is the most filmed detective in cinematic history. He points out the switches between location and studio shots- commenting on the splendid cinematography, and the atmospheric blend of light and shadow. We get fascinating bios of key actors, and he points out differences between the novel and the film. He comments on key suspects and those who play them. We find out the movie was shot over twenty-four days, and he talks about the elaborate shot on the Paris metro. Later on, he talks about when Maigret is wrong-footed. He points out the uses of back protection and much more. The other new extra is My Friend Maigret (16.02), with film historian Martin Hall talking about how Inspector Maigret was transferred from page to screen. He also touches on some of his favourite adaptations.
On the archive side, we have Maigret & Continental (17.03) with Christine Leteux, author of Maurice Tourneur: réalisateur sans frontières.
The first pressing of the film comes with a booklet featuring new writing on Cécile is Dead and adaptations of French literature under German occupation by Andrew Watt.
If you enjoy detective mysteries, both dialogue-heavy and atmospheric, Cécile is Dead will be for you. This Eurkea reissue serves up a lovely HD scan and worthy extras.