Maigret (TV Series) Un meurtre de première classe (1999) User Reviews

A 12-Hour Stop at Jeumont

[orebaugh · 8/10 · 16 September 2005]

A train from Berlin to Paris stops for 50 minutes at the town of Jeumont. In that time, a passenger is murdered. The first-class carriages are locked; no one can get on or off. The local police inspector, Paul Lachenal, calls in his famous uncle, Jules Maigret, for assistance. Maigret goes about his investigation in his usual methodical manner. "I like to listen to people," he says. And he promises the passengers he'll have the murderer caught by 9:00 PM.

In this story, set in the long hot summer of 1953, Maigret's investigation and bits of character business between the passengers occupy almost equal portions of screen time. Both, to me, were quite enjoyable. Lachenal, only recently out of the police academy, is eager to make a good impression on his uncle. The passengers are keeping secrets from Maigret, and from each other. Impatiently he tells Miss Frankel, "You and your boyfriend are getting on my wick!" Which may not have been meant to be funny, but was, in subtitled translation. It's been a long time since French class, but I think Maigret's actual words were "courir sur le haricot," which can be literally rendered, "running on the bean." Your mileage may vary.

There's even a little gun play in this installment. My favorite scene, though, was of Maigret, sitting alone in the compartment where the murder occurred, reasoning it out. If you like quiet mysteries, and don't mind subtitles, give this one a try.

Murder on a train

[wjspears · 6/10 · 7 June 2021]

Murders on a train are a staple of mysteries from Agatha Christie, to Eric Ambler, to Alfred Hitchcock.

Normally though, the trains are on the move. And that may be the problem I had with this episode of Maigret. The train in question, is stranded in the Jeumont station, as all the passengers in the First Class section are required to be detained and interrogated by the French police.

The joy of the Maigret series, for me, is the slow, methodical nature of the investigation that Maigret pursues. One of the reasons that this format works so well, it seems to me, is that the scenery can become part of the story, and sometimes almost the most fascinating part.

Here, the "stationary" nature of the train, puts the passengers on edge, and had a similar effect on me as the viewer. It was the usual slow unveiling that I love about Maigret. But it felt ponderous, as well, as the same passengers were interviewed, with little in the way of variety in interaction.

There were incidents, even several incidents of gun play, which is unusual for the Maigret series. Plus there were indiscreet romances bubbling on board the train. But, in the end, there was not enough to keep me involved for this 90 minute episode of Maigret. It felt a little flat, to me.

"Jeumont, 51 minutes d'arret."

[garywhalen · 8/10 · 29 November 2023]

On a train to Paris a first-class passenger slumps over dead into the lap of a young woman. He's been murdered (oh so subtly) at the Jeumont stop. Maigret's nephew, a police detective, calls his uncle and asks for his help. Maigret obliges and soon arrives to find that, under orders from his nephew, the two first-class cars have been decoupled from the train and both the first-class cars and the first-class passengers are held at the station. The train, without them, then continues on to Paris.

This episode is based on a Maigret short story (Jeumont, 51 minutes d'arret), one that I don't think has been translated into English. (I don't have it, nor could I find it.) My guess is, Simenon wished to write something akin to Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express." Christies' story is set in winter with a snow drift blocking the train from proceeding; whereas Simenon's is set in the summer and certain train cars are pulled from the train and isolated.

I enjoyed meeting the characters--suspects, really--and getting glimpses into their lives. Two traveling businessmen are ready to help an elderly woman, a boy plays around the trains, a man and woman fall in love, . . . All the while Maigret moves closer and closer to what happened. As for the conclusion, it is reasonable and Maigret's reasoning is solid.

Maigret does Christie?!

[Tony-Holmes · 9/10 · 17 January 2024]

Saw this on the Talking Pictures channel (UK, old films and TV). They had previously shown the 1960s series (50+ episodes, BBC, B&W) featuring Rupert Davies, a generally acclaimed Maigret.

We've also seen the excellent 12 episodes (2 series) that ITV did (90s) with Michael Gambon as Maigret (terrific portrayal) and the less successful later efforts with Rowan Atkinson in the lead.

This Cremer version is of course French, with subtitles, but they are not too wordy, so fairly easy to follow. Also very French, lots of atmosphere, meaningful looks, thoughtful silences.

I see some reviews refer to how faithful this version is to the books, a ludicrous statement in one respect, as Lucas, his main assistant in all the books I've seen, has almost completely disappeared!

I haven't liked all the episodes so far of this Cremer version, but THIS one is pretty good, apparently an homage to Agatha Christie, and her Orient Express mystery?

As the other reviews have described, it's a murder on a train, the culprit must be one of the passengers, but the dead man's documents have disappeared, so without knowing who he is rather hampers the investigation. As ever, Maigret slowly eliminates most of the suspects, then makes a breakthrough.

As usual, the acting is very good, and there are some nice touches, Maigret ordering lunch for 30 or so passengers in a rural spot with few facilities! He also chides his nephew several times, and takes delight in catching out several passengers when they've lied.

The only drawback I thought was with the pacing, although it is the style of this series to be slow and thoughtful, this one overdid things a bit in that regard?