A fascinating French Film Noir. Every element of the film is meticulously produced. The last few minutes disappointed a bit, but did not harm my appreciation for this superb work of art.

Between 2.5 and 3 stars. Photography and actors are OK, it is well directed. But the script is not enought to be a good film noir.

Very well done, complex film noir that reveals the gritty side of a poor, post-war Paris and develops each character deeply. Highly recommended.

Louis Jouvet plays one of his most interesting and touching character, in this brillant thriller, once again so well-written and acted. The black & white is beautiful.

A dogged policeman (Louis Jouvet) investigates a married music hall couple after a repugnant film producer and pornographer turns up dead in Clouzot's first post-war film (prior to well-known thrillers Les Diaboliques and The Wages of Fear). Not exactly noir and not exactly police procedural but blending elements from these genres with the backstage musical (albeit the particularly French kind). Bernard Blier (the husband and accompanist) is spurred to passionate jealousy by Suzy Delair's (the wife and singer) willingness to flirt with producers to advance her career. Thus, he is suspect number one when she gets mixed up with the soon-dead producer - or perhaps she is suspect number one - or perhaps their lesbian friend downstairs is suspect number one? With Jouvet on the trail, the clues start to fall into place in a satisfying way - although Clouzot is much more interested in l'affaire de coeur than in any diddly-squat murder investigation. Top notch.

It's a great film, full of mystery and intense moments. Didn't expect it to be so good, but at the end I enjoyed it. If you're a fan of oldish French movies, don't miss it.

Fast-moving, twisty, highly enjoyable.

Uma artista ambiciosa, um velho pervertido, duas ou três canções capazes de conquistar uma plateia. São poucos os ingredientes para a base da receita deste thriller, mas tudo à (C) mais do que parece nas mãos do mestre Clouzot (conheço tão pouco e já estou rendido para a vida). Embora dê uns quantos nós a mais na intriga, âQuai des orfèvresâ? deixou-me com as melhores impressões acerca de toda a sua coolness e riqueza narrativa. 4/5

Beautifully photographed noir from master Clouzot with a perfect balance of farce and post-war social criticism.

Very well-made noir with a wonderful screenplay that propels the entire enterprise with dialogue. Clouzot should get more attention than he does.

Great. Beautiful movie. I rarely get annoyed with characters, Suzy Delair's acting was brilliant.

Par rapport à la rà (C)putation du film, j'en ressors très là (C)gèrement dà (C)çu. Mais attention, ça possède à (C)normà (C)ment de qualità (C) à mes yeux pour en faire un bon film. Ce que je n'aime pas? Peut-être le fait que ça bavarde assez souvent, une impression que lorsque l'enquête avance pour les policiers, ce n'est simplement qu'une redite ou presque pour le spectateur. Ensuite, il faut bien avouer que le twist final et le coupable est relativement dà (C)cevant. Pour le reste, en dà (C)pit de l'univers du music-hall qui n'est pas ce que je prà (C)fère, j'ai malgrà (C) tout bien accrochà (C). Il faut dire que Blier et Jouvet sont deux grands (remarquables?) acteurs. Que Clouzot est une nouvelle fois un grand cinà (C)aste et qu'en dà (C)pit donc d'avoir eu un sentiment de redite, le film se laisse regarder avec un certain plaisir. Il y a aussi, sans aucun doute, une grande qualità (C) d'à (C)criture pour pouvoir faire passer la reconstruction du crime comme crà (C)dible et passer outre l'impression de redite donc. Un bon film, un rien surfait à mon goût.

one of the most remarkable screenplays of any film ive seen. the details of the story are complex, but simply told and without missteps. clouzot deserves far more respect than he receives in the U.S., and this film simply adds to his legacy of astoundingly good suspense and horror films. blier was fantastic, and even the supporting players in smaller roles such as larquey as the cab driver deliver very solid performances. the ending is the best part, as it was unexpected even for clouzot, a director who is great with unexpected endings. great film.

"He had a bad education, his parents were bourgeois." Excellent but suffers a little with time.

Who knew this was a holiday movie? But it ends on Christmas day! This is the rare movie where the scenery-chewing is done by the actual scenery: you can practically smell the stale tobacco and feel the oily grime.

Not Clouzot's best film, but still a brilliant little piece of film noir that explores the effects of jealousy and rage as well as the terror of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Clouzot explores the nether regions of society while simultaneously functioning as an engaging police procedural. Wanna-be actresses, photographers who moonlight as pornographers, perverted producers seeking new "talent," and husbands driven mad by jealousy all percolate together into Clouzot's heady brew of desire, debauchery, jealousy, and justice.

Reading the AV Club's insightful review on Quai des Orfèvres helped me appreciate it a little more. When I first finished it, I was a little disappointed; for such a great noir setup, I was a little disappointed in the payoff. The ending seemed a little neat and tidy, with the ramifications left a little unexplored, and I wondered what I was missing. But that review helped me appreciate the movie for what it is - an exploration of these characters and their relationships, all as viewed through the prism of this crime. That the crime allows in Jouvet as a fascinating curmudgeon of a detective is just a bonus, but even he is given a chance to stretch his legs and expose unexpected details about his personal life that just increase the richness of the whole film. The more I think about the movie, the more I like it, and I kind of want to watch it again understanding that the plot is just a means to an end so that we can explore the various players in a crime that may - or may not - be one of passion, or of jealousy, or of something else entirely. Lots of fun, especially for Jouvet's amazing detective.

Clouzot is a master of cinematic language. Study this film.

Louis Jouvet rayonne dans ce film policier à la française assez cynique qui se déroule dans le milieu du music hall . Bernard Blier en falot de service est excellent aussi. Classique.

Difficile de ne pas aimer ce film !!