La tête d'un homme

Difficult to rate - bought down by its age but considerably elevated by the acting. The principal villain and slow witted dupe/sidekick are simply brilliantly portrayed, Overall the whole cast does well. The plot is OK but as I say age has not been kind. A must watch for the portrayal of the villains. Note this is not an action movie. Though the pacing is deliberate (the setup is lengthy with some main characters not appearing till well into the film) it does keep moving to its conclusion.

It's not Harry Baur as Maigret that becomes the attraction. Actually the investigation is the low part of this murderous scheme. The undeniable presence is Valéry Inkijinoff, of Storm Over Asia (1928) fame, as the small-time filth of the story. His obsessions and life on the dark side is mesmerizing on screen. This is not a film where the suspense of the crime is the lifeline. It's the character portrait of a hired killer.