The element of the burnt-out case who discards the bottle to pursue justice was used much later by Paul Newman in The Verdict but Raimu got there first in this excellent movie which may be Henri Decoin's finest hour. There's a fantastic opening which establishes the provincial town and manages to convey the feeling of a rotten centre; the rain-lashed streets and glistening cobblestones are the very essence of noir and it could be argued (but not by me) that Decoin lingers a tad too long on something that will not be seen again given that the bulk of the film is set in Raimu's large, decaying mansion and/or the courtroom where Decoin shows he's been influenced by Welles by including the ceilings in the frame. Raimu was rarely seen as a full-scale urbanite (at least I've never seen him in a role that calls for collar, tie and suit) but shows he's just as effective as a white-collar worker than a peasant/tradesman. His response to his wife's departure is to remarry immediately taking as his bride the bottle and is measuring his life with Claret when death comes to call in the shape of a stiff he finds in one of the rooms. His daughter runs with a pretty fast crowd and in nothing flat her boyfriend is tapped for the killer and despite any discernible paternal feeling Raimu takes the case and in proving the boyfriend's innocence accuses the whole town, fabric of society etc of being culpable. Like so many movies before and after the source material is a novel by Georges Simenon but the standout adaptation is the work of Henri-Georges Clouzot, on the verge of making his own mark as a first-rate director with a trio of Classics in Le Corbeau, La Salaire de la puer and Les Diaboliques to his name. All in all this is one of the finest French movies released during the Occupation and that's saying something.

The precedent movie "le Bienfaiteur" was a timid attempt at a society put down ."Les Inconnus dans la Maison" has two major assets:Raimu,one of the most prodigious actors the French cinema has ever had and Henri-George Clouzot ,the future director of such gems as "diabolique" "le Corbeau" or "le Salaire de la Peur "(wages of fear).But it does not explain the success of this work.The whole town,the old house are wrapped in a strange poetry "someone is walking in the attic upstairs the heroine says -No,that must be this old creaking furniture".The first pictures display the saddest town in the world where the rain keeps falling down.Raimu's performance is once more stunning:during one hour ,his part is completely subdued,because he plays a human wreck,who is on the booze all day long.A former lawyer,he called it quits when his wife left him;and now,he lives with his daughter whom he does not seem to love very much.Then he discovers a dead body in his house :the girl and her pack of youngsters are involved .But he acts as like he doesn't care.He agrees to defend the suspect,his daughter's boyfriend.Raimu really plays Lazarus:after attending the first part of the trial in a complete indifference,uttering one word or two ,he rises from the dead and puts the teenagers'parents in the dock.Raimu's performance is really sublime and a lot of actors who intend to play a lawyer should have a look at "les inconnus dans la maison".With this film,Decoin became a great film noir director -he will outdo himself in "non coupable" -In spite of a happy end ,the audience leaves the movie with a bitter taste in the mouth:the whole town is rotten,fathers and mothers have failed ,a subject which André Cayatte will resume in "avant le déluge" (1953).In 1992,George Lautner redid "les inconnus dans la maison" with Jean-Paul Belmondo as the lead.But a remake is a remake ,and taking on a Raimu's part is pure suicide:besides,time had taken its toll and the screenplay which was original in 1942 became mundane fifty years later:the movie looked like some seventies qualité française movie,at a time when drug was the subject à la mode.Another remake was made by Pierre Rouve ("Stranger in the house" )between Decoin's and Lautner's versions ,with James Mason as the lead in 1967.