One of the great Noirs, and it has a lot of significance even in the world of today. It depicts the classic Witch-hunt sequence, how a mob could be manipulated to target an innocent person, just since he/she is queer (not in the misused meaning of the term) and not friendly.
The three main characters brought Hunchback of Notredam to my mind, not the original, rather the adapted versions, where Esmeralda survived. The victim was Quasimodo, though his Esmeralda and Phoebus were significantly dark in shade unlike Hugo's noir novel. Woman in love, who can sacrifice anything, including herself to protect her lover. This obsession makes Alice different from Esmeralda (who was only ready to sacrifice herself, not others). The Phoebus (Alfred) is self-obsessed like the original, and could go to the extreme, to satisfy not only his carnal but the monetary needs to, and was in fact a gigolo (though not professed) of old women, while Alice wasn't around (serving sentence on his behalf). Quasimodo (Hire) is in love with Alice and wants her, for herself, as well as to protect her from Alfred.
Great movie. I won't say I liked it. But that is because I don't like pure noir, nothing wrong with the movie. I put the limits where innocents major protagonists are be deprived, but not of life. But in real life they often do, Of course in the end he was redeemed, but may be only to prove that crime doesn't pay.
Review of Panique
