Maigret chez les riches
- Episode aired May 26, 2000
- 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
97
YOUR RATING
Maigret investigates a threatening letter at the Parendon mansion.Maigret investigates a threatening letter at the Parendon mansion.Maigret investigates a threatening letter at the Parendon mansion.
Photos
Caroline Silhol
- Madame Parendon
- (as Caroline Sihol)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode dedicated to series/episode writer Dominique Roulet, who died 12/04/1999.
Featured review
"She may be asleep, but she has style."
After receiving a strange letter that predicts a murder without naming the future victim nor perpetrator, Emile Parendon, a highly paid corporate lawyer, contacts Inspector Maigret. Maigret visits Parendon at his home and then he (Maigret) receives an anonymous letter warning of a murder, too. (In the book Maigret receives all the letters, written on expensive stationary, which warn of a future murderer, but none provide information as to who the murderer or victim is. Maigret traces the paper to the law firm and then to Mr. Parendon.) Eventually there is a murder.
I dislike the title given to this episode. (George Simenon's novel, upon which this episode is based, is "Maigret Hesitates.") While the family at the center of the story is rich, that's not what drives the plot. As for that plot, much comes down to timing: Who had the opportunity to commit the murder considering the estimated time of the murder? Maigret realizes that if he can figure that out the motive will become apparent. On the morning of the murder the house is full of people moving room to room. Who would be in a position to find that tiny window of time needed to kill and be unobserved?
The setup and the motive are reasonable here, though I think the Parendon children's ages in the book make a better story. They are older in the film (teenagers or even early 20s maybe) and that added age makes them and their encounters with Maigret, I think, less interesting. Again, Maigret is joined by his nephew Inspector Paul Lachenal, who it seems is a composite of Maigret's various assistants in this and future episodes. I would guess that Maigret purists will not like it-and I can understand that-but it doesn't bother me.
I dislike the title given to this episode. (George Simenon's novel, upon which this episode is based, is "Maigret Hesitates.") While the family at the center of the story is rich, that's not what drives the plot. As for that plot, much comes down to timing: Who had the opportunity to commit the murder considering the estimated time of the murder? Maigret realizes that if he can figure that out the motive will become apparent. On the morning of the murder the house is full of people moving room to room. Who would be in a position to find that tiny window of time needed to kill and be unobserved?
The setup and the motive are reasonable here, though I think the Parendon children's ages in the book make a better story. They are older in the film (teenagers or even early 20s maybe) and that added age makes them and their encounters with Maigret, I think, less interesting. Again, Maigret is joined by his nephew Inspector Paul Lachenal, who it seems is a composite of Maigret's various assistants in this and future episodes. I would guess that Maigret purists will not like it-and I can understand that-but it doesn't bother me.
helpful•00
- garywhalen
- Dec 18, 2023
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