L'Homme à l'imperméable (1957)
Directed by Julien Duvivier

Film Review

Via this loose adaptation of a James Hadley Chase novel (Tiger by the Tail), director Julien Duvivier and screenwriter René Barjavel appear to have set their sights on emulating the kind of American and British comedy-thrillers which were then very popular in France.  The film's comic thrust is ably supplied by its star actor, the incomparable Fernandel, who is on fine form and brings a touch of comic genius to many of the scenes (most notably the sequence in which he attempts to cook a meal, which is on a par with Chaplin and Tati).   The thriller component of the film isn't quite so successfully dealt with, introducing bursts of violence in some scenes which sit uncomfortably alongside the film's more comedic passages.

Enjoyable though it is, L'Homme a l'impermeable is really a mixed bag of a film that is torn between being a serious policier and an Ealing-style black comedy.  It's surprising how close to classic American film noir some of the later scenes of the film are, as a result mainly of Roger Hubert's stylishly moody cinematography.  Even in what is supposed to be a comedy, the gloom and pessimism that clings to much of Duvivier's later work is clearly felt.  Whilst it clearly is not in the same league as the director's more sober thrillers (such as his magnificently cynical Voici le temps des assassins), this Fernandel offering makes an entertaining romp, helped along by another pleasing performance from another giant of French cinema, Bernard Blier.

Film Synopsis

When his wife is called away on a family matter, a timid musician, Albert Constantin, finds himself unable to cope with the simplest domestic chore.  Accepting the advice of a fellow musician he pays a visit on a friendly chorus girl, Eva, just a few moments before she is killed by an unseen assailant.  Realising that Eva is a prostitute, Albert hurries away, hoping to forget about the incident.  The next day, the murder is reported in the newspapers, with eyewitness accounts of a man in a raincoat running from the scene of the crime.  Albert is then approached by a neighbour of the murdered woman, Monsieur Raphaël, who threatens to denounce him to the police unless he pays up.   Raphaël lets slip that he saw another man leave Eva's rooms after Albert's visit - presumably this is the real killer.  Within no time at all, Albert finds himself drawn into a deadly web of intrigue, with gun-toting gangsters to fend off as he tries to uncover the identity of Eva's murderer.