It's a classic mystery set-up: Maigret is asked to help an old friend who has received a life-threatening letter, he goes back to the village where he grew up to meet her but fails to prevent her death, so now he has to uncover the culprit. His past relationship with the victim gives this picture a depth of feeling, and the passage of time gives it a sense of melancholy. The film also captures the remote village atmosphere well, but - like its urban predecessor, "Maigret Sets A Trap" - suffers from an excess of talk and plod. Nonetheless, the final 15 minutes, where Maigret gathers all the suspects in (quite literally) a round dinner table and pins the finger of guilt to him! No, to him! Wait - it's him after all! Are well-done and recall the more famous Hercule Poirot mysteries. Gabin is an ideal Maigret, but this film has no Annie Girardot to compete with him for the acting honors. **1/2 out of 4.
Review of Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case
