THE MURDERER LIVES AT NUMBER 21

‘The Murderer lives at Number 21’ centres on detective Wens, played by the legendary Pierre Fresnay, who has a mysterious case to solve. Murders are being committed in Paris, all signed by a mysterious Monsieur Durand. Commissioner Wens, who has set out to track down the murderer, arrives at the Mimosas guesthouse at 21 Avenue Junot, in Montmartre, disguised as a pastor. Here, among the varied fauna of the tenants, the phantom murderer is hiding. The first feature film by Henri-Georges Clouzot, then 34, one of the great masters of French cinema, features a brilliant cast of actors and supporting players, but behind the police investigation lies a clear allusion to the anti-Nazi struggle in France. Clouzot also wrote the screenplay, along with the author of the original novel, Belgian Stanislas-André Steeman. The film’s original poster appears, as a homage to cinephile Quentin Tarantino, in his film ‘Inglourious Basterds’.