One of those excellent french films which were made initially to replace American movies whose import had been stopped by the Nazis, but still had a style of their own. Dandy actor Pierre Fresnay plays the part of the swift thinking, wisecracking police detective Monsieur Wens. The film also features lots of splendid actors of the 40's, such as Jean Tissier, with his irresistible drawl, as well as the suave André Luguet and young Suzy Delair who plays an extravagant girlfriend. It was adapted from a novel by belgian-born Stanislas-André Steeman, a prolific writer of detective stories with a touch of poetry, many of which were turned into atmospheric movies, such as "Quai des orfèvres" and "L'assassin habite au 21". The plot turns around six enterprising young friends who, having hit the jackpot, decide to divide it among themselves and set out to make fortune, each in his own particular way. They also make a youthful, romantic pact to meet again in five years time and share the fortune they hope to achieve. But when the time comes, they begin to be murdered one after the other
The imagery tends towards film noir; the oppressive atmosphere in Nazi-occupied France lends itself ideally to the aesthetics of film noir ; the whole country seems to be perpetually at night, in shadows or in fog and the film climax takes place in a labyrinthian quarry. In contrast, the dialogues are often witty and amusing, for instance when Monsieur Wens has a drink with a suspect in one of those smoky, underworld parisian café with jazzy accordeon music playing in the background : the detective casually inquires over the little ruffian's alibi through a colourful discussion over how the latter makes a living at the races. The pacing of the film is good, except for a lenghty cabaret sequence which is a mixture of moulin rouge (with some nudity daring for the time) and surreal reverie.
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