Main Cast: Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Burgess Meredith, Robert Hutton, Jean Wallace
Release Year: 1949
Country: US
Run Time: 82 minutes
Plot
Though hampered by a small budget that shrank with each shooting day, director Burgess Meredith fashioned a serviceable film version of Georges Simenon's A Battle of Nerves. Retitled The Man on the Eiffel Tower, the film pits Simenon's analytical Inspector Maigret (Charles Laughton) against a wily murderer. We know virtually from the outset that the guilty party is Radek (Franchot Tone), a psychotic with delusions of grandeur who has been seduced into killing the wealthy aunt of slatternly Edna Wallace (Jean Wallace). Maigret suspects Radek , but without solid proof he must suffer the taunting and baiting of the beyond-the-law killer. Eventually Maigret wins the psychological battle, forcing Radek to seek refuge on the titular tower. And if you're waiting for that final fatal fall, this isn't that kind of movie. Burgess Meredith also appears in the film as the sort of obvious suspect that is automatically disregarded by any true detective-story buff, despite the most damning evidence. Originally released in eye-pleasing Anscocolor, Man on the Eiffel Tower is generally available nowadays in washed-out public-domain prints. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Mystery/detective film fans will have a great time with The Man on the Eiffel Tower -- but so will those who aren't necessarily devotees of the genre. Eiffel is a real corker of a movie, the kind of film that's a lot of fun to watch and is put together so well that one is unlikely to notice the holes in it, and likely to not care even if one does notice them. Harry Brown's screenplay moves swiftly from one moment to the next, artfully filling each scene with just the right amount of information, delivered in ways that are often simple and straightforward but always effective. As director, Burgess Meredith has done an excellent job of pulling the elements together, keeping the pace fast without it being hurried, and distracting the viewer from concentrating too hard on any plot tangents that might prove troublesome if they are examined too closely. He's also given cinematographer Stanley Cortez ample opportunity to photograph the city of Paris, and his work is simply stunning; the location shooting shows the city off to great effect but without turning the film into a travelogue -- and the work on the Eiffel Tower itself is first-rate. (If possible, catch the film in a clean print; the gorgeous colors in many versions are criminally washed out.) The cast is also in great form, with Charles Laughton a perfect Maigret and a haggard Franchot Tone a marvelous villain. Director Meredith also directs himself with skill, and the supporting cast is quite fine. Although not unknown, Eiffel is not as familiar with viewers as it well deserves to be. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
