MAIGRET! LA NUIT DU CARREFOUR (1932)/LA NUIT DU CARREFOUR (2017)

Archetypal Maigret story “Night at the Crossroads” told twice: the atmospheric 1932 “birth of noir” at the hands of Jean Renoir, and a more astringent (but no less lurid) version from recent times featuring Rowan Atkinson as Maigret.

ROMANS DURS AMERICAINE! THE BROTHERS RICO (1957)/THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE (1956)

Richard Conte can’t escape the Mob as he tries to save his brothers; Joseph Cotten would rather not save his brother (Van Johnson), but a raging river forces his hand. Each of them faces a difficult reckoning!

: ROMANS DURS FRANÇAIS! THE CLOCKMAKER OF ST. PAUL (1974)/BETTY (1992)

Simenon in the realm of neo-noir: a father (Philippe Noiret) discovers more than he bargained for when his son is charged with murder; and the dissolution of an upper-class girl (Marie Trintignant) is revealed, inch by tragic inch. Gripping works from Bertrand Tavernier & Claude Chabrol.

: ROMANS DURS L’ANGLETERRE! THE PARIS EXPRESS (1952)/MIDNIGHT EPISODE (1950)

More money trouble for the meek (Claude Rains) and the miserable (Stanley Holloway) who try to slip off with someone else’s ill-gotten gains!