La brigade des maléfices (1970–1971) User Reviews

The Brigade of the Evil

[vicentecb-1 · 9/10 · 31 January 2007]

I was a young boy, some 13 or 14 years old, back in early 1970's when I occasionally watched in the afternoon, after school, some episodes of this series. I can still remember how much I liked this film. That's why I still well remember after all this years not only the name of this series but the main characters and some more. However it didn't last much, perhaps just a few episodes, therefore it's possible many people can't remember it or just didn't have the chance of seeing it. What I did like the most was the quiet atmosphere, there was no fantasy but at the same time there was something magic and some mystery, also not a lot of people involved and it took place in humid Paris outskirts in autumn, lots of fallen leaves in the ground, with the two men, the old man and his assistant following an investigation, perhaps they were private detectives, I don't know, living in a sort of French country house with a garage full of staff. They used to wear raincoats, then, after talking inside the house about what to do and where to go they were leaving the place riding a motorbike with a sidecar. Non of them were wearing crash helmets, not so common at the time, but instead old fashioned glasses the driver and both of them a sort of leather caps for the head. It's a sort of film you don't often see, probably devoted for a minority and not for the big audience, perhaps that's why it wasn't a long and very popular series, though for me, even not having seen a lot of it, I still gladly remember it. It's a film one always would like to see in DVD or watch in again on TV .

I wish it was on DVD

[whitepeak · 9/10 · 7 February 2007]

Watched that series a long time ago when I was a child and was living in France. It falls with all the other great TV series like "Vidocq" "Les Habits Noirs', "Rocambole" and even "Cheri Bibi" It left you with a great feeling especially if you saw them during your childhood. I don't remember much but do recall that I absolutely loved it. The most amazing thing is that on the other hand I have a very clear image of the principal actor. It was a series that would be categorized in "Science Fiction" or "Fantastic". I really wish that it would be released on DVD but as the other person who wrote a comment about it said "it probably fell into oblivion. Too bad.

France's answer to The Avengers

[nicholas.rhodes · 12 September 2004]

I remember seeing a few episodes from this series when I was living in France in 1973/4. Paumier was a bearded police inspector who had to solve weird crimes. It was rather like a French equivalent of The Avengers, at least the earlier black and white episodes with Peel. One episode involved (very lifelike) female "robots" being employed to do the housework. Those who took on these robots inevitably fell in love with them and had sexual desires. The robots were of course devoid of any emotion. So what happened ?

The "employers" all ended up committing suicide ! That was quite a tough nut for Paumier to crack ! This series cannot be found anywhere on DVD or VHS and has probably fallen into oblivion. Perhaps one day it will be resuscitated and will be viewable again ! It was certainly original, to say the least, hence my drawing comparisons with The Avengers in the U.K.

The best TV series I've ever seen!!!

[emattei-1 · 10/10 · 14 November 2007]

I remember this TV series as the best I've ever seen. It is a remembrance of my earlier youth, but still lively. I enjoyed every single minute of vision. I especially liked the episode of the romantic vampire and the one of the devil who sales TV equipment, but all of them were gorgeous.

I've spent years inquiring for finding out its title and details. I've just found it and looking through the web, I've caught a lot of interesting news about this series and the plot of the single episodes. Unfortunately it seems that this series doesn't exist either in VHS or DVD.

I really have a huge desire to see it again.

A typical French series of this period

[searchanddestroy-1 · 4 January 2024]

I guess THE AVENGERS and some James Bond films inspired this typical French TV show. I also think about AUX FRONTIERES DU POSSIBLE, produced one year later, let's say in the same time. Very close topics, at the border between thriller, and science fiction. But this one, AUX FRONTIERES DU POSSIBLE, which I commented all the episodes ten years ago, was a bit more accurate, less lousy. Anyway, if you like LA BRIGADE DES MALEFICES, you should also like AUX FRONTIERES DU POSSIBLE, starring Pierre Vaneck. The French charm of the seventies, mainly destined to old timers in search of nostalgia, or at best the young audiences, students, who prepare a degree in audio visual history.