For his first French film in nearly a decade (he'd spent the war years in Hollywood), filmmaker
Julien Duvivier chose to adapt Les Fiançailles de Monsieur Hire, a novel by
Georges Simenon. Panique, as Duvivier's version was titled, is a twisted tale of murder, subterfuge and revenge from "Beyond." Middle-aged loner Monsieur Hire (
Michel Simon) falls for his neighbor Alice (
Viviane Romance) only to be framed for the murder commited by Alice's lover Alfred (Paul Bernard). The ending suggests that the actual culprits are going to get their well-deserved comeuppance, though exoneration comes a shade too late for the luckless Monsieur Hire. The Simenon book was filmed again in 1989, as the excellent
Monsieur Hire, directed by
Patrice Leconte, a film as bleakly pessimistic as the original, more in keeping with the style and tone of the literary source. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide