— Je sais que la bière fait grossir et que je devrais y renoncer, mais j’ai préféré renoncer à la coquetterie.

Jean Gabin reprises the role of Inspector Maigret for the second time in what is oneof the best film outings for Georges Simenon’s famous detective hero. The self-assured and efficient direction comes from Jean Delannoy, one of the pillars of quality cinema of the 1940s and 1950s, who, at the time, was being vilified by the hot-headed young critics of the Cahiers du cinéma. Whilst not Delannoy’s best film, Maigret et l’affaire Saint-Fiacreis a fine example of the detective thriller genre, benefiting from talent on both the acting and writing side. — James Travers