Maigret (TV Series) Maigret et le Liberty Bar (1997) User Reviews

Absorbing entry in the series

[orebaugh · 7/10 · 12 June 2005]

A woman and her daughter bury William Brown in their backyard, and are caught before they can make their getaway. Commissaire Maigret arrives from Paris to investigate. When the hapless Inspector Boutigues lays out his theory of the case and asks Maigret what he thinks, the Commissaire replies: "I don't think anything. I listen...and I look." No fistfights, no gunfights, just Maigret listening and looking and unraveling the connections between the grave-digging Martini women, Mado (owner of the Liberty Bar), the lovely Silvie (her sometime-tenant) and Harry Brown (the late William's son).

Bruno Cremer in the title role has the physical size and screen presence necessary to keep the center of the film on himself. Not widely available, but certainly worth a look if you come across it. Filmed in South Africa, standing in for the 1950's French Riviera.

Liberty Belle

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 1 October 2013]

Another episode from the French television series made in the late nineties with Bruno Cremer as the eponymous Inspector treading somewhat foolishly in the footsteps of better actors like Harry Baur, Jean Gabin,etc. Once again there is little or no on screen violence and certainly no killing on camera, making it more of a cerebral chess match than anything else. Unless, of course, one has read the Simenon novels - which I haven't - it's difficult to assess whether or not the gallery of suspects/innocent bystanders etc are the creation of Simenon himself or the adapter(s). In any case this lot are a pretty ho hum bunch. Watchable ... once.

Enjoyable entry

[wjspears · 9/10 · 28 March 2021]

One of the previous reviewers wrote that this was filmed in South Africa, to stand in for the South of France. I have no idea if that is true. But it looks and feels like the South of France, wherever it was filmed.

Wealthy hotels for the the rich and famous, cohabitate with seedier locales, like the Liberty Bar, which saw better days before the War, but never really thrived after the War.

The characters we meet are so well drawn. The character of the local police, Inspector Boutigues, is wonderfully portrayed, by Phillippe Uchan, as a little in awe of all the wealth around him, as well as more than a little envious and petty. Maigret's way of both using and dismissing Inspector Boutigues is amusing to watch.

Even the murder victim, William Brown, who we never see, but hear about, is a character we find interesting. The character of Mado, especially, (Pascale Roberts), is a complex character who becomes even more interesting as the episode continues.

The resolution to the mystery is not what we expect, and is surprising and touching.

Visually, the Bruno Cremer Maigret series is one of the finest examples of television cinematography, I have ever watched. This episode is an excellent example.

Great episode, with a surprise

[Tony-Holmes · 9/10 · 14 December 2023]

Just saw this version on the Talking Pictures (UK) channel. We had previously seen the same story done in the old (60s) BBC version with Rupert Davies (about an hour runtime), though it wasn't featured in in the two series (90s ITV) with Michael Gambon (died just recently) as Maigret (runtime about 90 mins).

One of the reviews (wjspears) has an excellent outline of the episode. Another (by writers-reign) is one of the daftest I've ever seen on IMDB, saying he (she?!) doesn't think much of the characters, not sure if they were written that way, has never read Simenon?! Well, I think you need to read some Simenon, else you won't appreciate Maigret's methods, immersing himself in the characters involved in the crime, gradually discerning what happened, as opposed to the picture at least some of the witnesses are trying to paint? And no car chases, no odd shoot-outs (well, one or two in 50+ episodes), just an occasional bit of obstruction from the examining magistrate (France has a different enquiry method to USA and UK).

This episode is most enjoyable, Maigret has flown to the Med coast to try and wrap up a murder and "make no waves" -- he has the unwelcome attentions of a local officer, and the way that chap is dealt with is both effective and very funny. Unlike some Maigret stories, this one has quite a long list of possible culprits, his 'wife' and her mother (actually he has a legal first wife in Australia), his 'friends' at a local bar (Liberty of the title) that he hangs out with for much of the time, or could it have been his son, trying to get full control of the family company? Could it even have been some connection to WW2 (this part seems odd, an Australian who was a Resistance hero?) - but Maigret soon dismisses that possibility.

Though the running time flies by, as Maigret floats (well, plods) round the various characters, working out who was where on the fateful day, who had a really good motive, and why wait until now, had anything changed for the victim in recent days or weeks?

The acting is impeccable, the sleazy bar is beautifully shot (as are the location shots of the sea, even if as we hear it's actually South African sea?!). Eventually one character turns up with a surprising (and very large!) sum of money, just where could that have come from? And we reach a surprise, though compassionate ending. And no 'waves' as requested!!