The Man On The Eiffel Tower [DVD]

There's probably a great film to be made of Georges Simenon's A Battle of Nerves, but The Man on the Eiffel Tower isn't it. Charles Laughton might seem perfect casting as Maigret but evidently he was too busy fighting with original director and producer Irving Allen to invest much character into the role - it's just Charles Laughton with a pipe. Nor does replacement director (at Laughton's insistence) Burgess Meredith make much of an impression as the patsy set up to take the fall for a double murder (just to complicate matters, all of Meredith's scenes were directed by Laughton). Instead its left to co-producer Franchot Tone's manic depressive villain to steal the show, fluctuating between depression and wild bursts of ego, his fading looks perfectly suited for a brilliant mind gone to seed like both Leopold and Loeb rolled into one. It ain't a subtle performance, but he's one of the few cast members who actually seems to know what he wants to do with his character and goes for it.

It's not so much a terrible film as one that holds the interest even while it fails to make the most of the material thanks to a somewhat awkward script and direction that, understandably with the number of cooks in the broth, never really gets a solid grip on the story or the characters. The best of the film is the striking and extensive location work in post-war Paris, the city earning its star billing in the opening credits more than most of the cast. Sadly Stanley Cortez's cinematography is no longer quite as striking as it must have been in 1949. The old Ansco Color has lost its lustre even in the UCLA's restored print, though that's as much down to the loss of the original negative (Allen brought up the rights and buried the film after it flopped) as it is the fading on the two color prints used as the basis for UCLA's restoration presented on Odeon's DVD. But even in less than glorious condition, Cortez's lively camerawork makes its mark, and its no surprise that Laughton would later choose him to photograph his sole outing as solo director, Night of the Hunter. The final chase on the Eiffel Tower itself is a marvel of daring high wire work from actors, stuntmen and camera operators alike, and there's a pleasing absurdity behind it - rather than saving an innocent, it's to prevent a murderer from killing himself so that he can be guillotined instead!

No extra features.

This great classic film has finally been released on DVD in a version restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. I've purchased many awful public domain versions on DVD over the years, and this restored version is probably the best this film will look. There are some scratches and lines running through it, but the colors are nice and they enhance the enjoyment of this film.

When Bill Kirby (played by Robert Hutton) muses out loud that he would gladly pay someone a million francs to murder his rich aunt, he little realizes that someone has overheard and accepts the offer. Soon, events take on a life of their own, as the aunt is murdered and a fall guy (Burgess Meredith) is set up to take the blame. However, Inspector Jules Maigret (Charles Laughton) is on the case, and he soon realizes that he will have to dig deep to get to the bottom of this case...and he does!

In 1950, actor Burgess Meredith directed this, his one and only movie. This movie is a film adaptation of Georges Simenon's A Battle of Nerves, and is quite interesting. Veteran actor Charles Laughton makes a very interesting Maigret, and the story is quite gripping. I enjoyed the scenes of post-WW2 Paris, and loved the movie.

On the down-side, this movie definitely shows its age. There are skips in the movie, marking lost pieces of film, and the color is washed out and in terrible need of remastering. But, that said, this is an interesting movie, and a great detective story (but, alas, no mystery, you quickly find out who the real murderer was).

I would highly recommend this movie to all fans of Charles Laughton, Commissaire Maigret, or of great old movies. I loved this movie, and am very glad that I bought it!