A thief and killer stalks the streets of Paris, leaving a calling card from “Monsieur Durand” at the scene of each crime. But after a stash of these cards are found in the boarding house at 21 Avenue Junot, Inspector Wenceslas Vorobechik takes lodging at the infamous address to solve the crime.

Clouzot’s thrilling debut is a dark and delicious whodunit fronted by an impossibly charismatic Pierre Fresnay. Made in Nazi-occupied France when the native cinema was closely supervised by the occupiers, this misanthropic comedy still manages to sneak in subversive, antifascist Easter eggs.