Strangers in the House

Twenty years ago, Raimu's wife ran off with another man, leaving him and their daughter, Juliette Faber -- at least it's assumed she is his daughter. Raimu immediately went to pieces, ceased to practice law, and has spent the last two decades getting drunk. One evening, there is a noise upstairs. Raimu and Mlle Faber open a room and discover a corpse there. He calls his cousin's husband, the state prosecutor, makes no objection to Mlle Faber being interrogated and retires to his room with his bottles. The next morning, he makes a brief statement in which he refers to Mlle Faber as his putative daughter, and begins to wander the streets, finding out what he can about her associates. When André Reybaz, who is in love with Mlle Faber, and she with him, is settled on to stand trial for murder, he selects Raimu as his lawyer.

Under Henri Decoin's direction (with a script by Henri-Georges Clouzot from a Simenon novel), Raimu shows not an iota of his usual charm. He is an emotional wreck, cold, and seemingly interested only in getting drunk. During the first day of the trial he sits like a sodden lump, hungover and not bothering to cross-examine the witnesses. After Mlle Faber says she hates him, will he rouse himself?

Given this is a Clouzot script, you can expect a lot of nastiness, and it's present, but also the reasons for the disdainful attitude of the movie. Decoin directs efficiently, befitting his status as a skilled commercial director, but with Raimu leading the cast, no one else really stands out. Still, he makes it more than worth your time.