| For his first French film in nearly a decade (he'd spent the war years in Hollywood), filmmaker Julien Duvivier chose to adapt Les Fiançailles de Monsieur Hire, a novel by Georges Simenon. Panique, as Duvivier's version was titled, is a twisted tale of murder, subterfuge and revenge from "Beyond." Middle-aged loner Monsieur Hire (Michel Simon) falls for his neighbor Alice (Viviane Romance) only to be framed for the murder commited by Alice's lover Alfred (Paul Bernard). The ending suggests that the actual culprits are going to get their well-deserved comeuppance, though exoneration comes a shade too late for the luckless Monsieur Hire. The Simenon book was filmed again in 1989, as the excellent Monsieur Hire, directed by Patrice Leconte, a film as bleakly pessimistic as the original, more in keeping with the style and tone of the literary source.
 CONDITION: NEW
 
 Actors: Viviane Romance, Michel Simon
 Directors: Julien Duvivier
 Format: Widescreen
 Language: French
 Subtitles: English
 Region: Region A/1
 Number of discs: 1
 Rated:
 NR
 Not Rated
 Studio: Criterion Collection
 DVD Release Date: December 18, 2018
 Run Time: 98 minutes
 
 Cast & Crew
 
 Michel Simon	M. Hire
 Viviane Romance	Alice
 Paul Bernard	Alfred
 Michel Ardan	Fernand
 Max Dalban	Capoulade
 Charles Dorat	Michelet
 Lucas Gridoux	M. Fortin
 J.F. Martial	M. Joubet
 Marcel Pérès	Cermanutti
 Emile Drain	Breteuil
 Guy Favieres	M. Sauvage
 
 Technical Credits
 
 Julien Duvivier	Director,Screenwriter
 Nicolas Hayer	Cinematographer
 Jacques Ibert	Score Composer
 Martha Poncin	Editor
 Charles Spaak	Screenwriter
 
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