Quelqu'un a tué... (1933) - A Dusty Little French Mystery

If you are looking for a sleek, fast-paced thriller, do not watch this film. You will be bored out of your mind within ten minutes.

But if you love dusty old French talkies, weird shadows, and the clunky charm of early sound cinema, this is a neat little find. It is basically a cozy, creaky mystery that feels like it was filmed inside an old wardrobe.

So, the plot is based on Edgar Wallace. That means we get a big dark house, a bunch of suspects who look incredibly guilty for no reason, and a murder. 🕵️‍♂️

The first thing you will notice is how loud the footsteps are. I swear, the foley artist must have been hitting wooden boards with hammers because every time André Burgère walks across a room, it sounds like a horse galloping.

There is this one scene where a guy just stares at a telephone for what feels like three whole minutes. I kept waiting for something to happen, but he just stared. I think the actor might have forgotten his line, or maybe the director, Jack Forrester, was taking a nap.

It has that weird, uneven rhythm of early 1930s cinema. It reminded me a bit of the awkward pacing in Ce cochon de Morin, though that one had a bit more energy in its bones.

The acting is very theatrical. Everyone shuffles around and projects their voices like they are trying to reach the back row of a dusty theater in Paris.

Marcelle Géniat is easily the best part of the cast. She has this cold, judgy glare that makes you feel like you did something wrong just by watching the movie.

The lighting is actually pretty cool though. There are some great, heavy shadows cast on the walls that make it look almost like an early film noir before noir was even a thing.

But the music? There is almost none. Just some random brassy blasts during the transition scenes that scare you because the rest of the movie is so incredibly quiet.

If you want something with actual energy from this era, you are better off putting on Betty Boop: Dizzy Dishes instead. But there is still a weird, ghostly charm to this one.

The ending feels incredibly rushed, like they realized they were running out of physical film and just decided to wrap it up in two minutes. Still, it's a neat little relic for a rainy Sunday afternoon when you have nothing else to do.