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The Murderer Lives at Number 21

The Murderer Lives at Number 21

Comedy · Mystery · Thriller · 1942

Paris, France. Commissaire Wens follows the lead of a ruthless murderer to an unexpected place.

Movie details

The Murderer Lives at Number 21

1942 Comedy · Mystery · Thriller 1h 23m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.3 / 10

4K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

80 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Paris, France. Commissaire Wens follows the lead of a ruthless murderer to an unexpected place.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Murderer Lives at Number 21?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Woman on the Run

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Frank Johnson, a sole witness to a gangland murder, goes into hiding and is trailed by Police Inspector Ferris, on the theory that Frank is trying to escape from possible retaliation. Frank's wife, Eleanor, suspects he is actually running away from their unsuccessful marriage. Aided by a newspaperman, Danny Leggett, Eleanor sets out to locate her husband. The killer is also looking for him, and keeps close tabs on Eleanor.

The Glass Key

The Glass Key

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A Shot in the Dark

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Inspector Jacques Clouseau, smitten with the accused maid Maria Gambrelli, unwittingly turns a straightforward murder investigation into a comedic series of mishaps, testing the patience of his irritable boss Charles Dreyfus as casualties mount.

The Seven-Ups

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The Mirror Crack'd

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Mystery · 1980

Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Written by

Stanislas-André Steeman · Henri-Georges Clouzot

Pierre Fresnay

Pierre Fresnay

Commissaire Wens

Suzy Delair

Suzy Delair

Mila Malou

Jean Tissier

Jean Tissier

Triquet

Pierre Larquey

Pierre Larquey

Mr. Colin

Noël Roquevert

Noël Roquevert

Dr. Linz

René Génin

René Génin

Alfred

J

Jean Despeaux

Kid Robert

Court is in session

Put The Murderer Lives at Number 21 on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.