Quai des Orfevres (1947)

Clouzot is an interesting filmmaker. His work's often compared to Hitchcock, yet he gets nowhere near the same amount of acclaim as Hitchcock, nor his French contemporaries. His films aren't unneccessarily deep, meaning that they're just as deep as they need to be and no more. This isn't really a bad thing, especially not if you're in the mood for an entertaining thriller, which is precisely what Quai des Orfevres is.

It's hard to find things to say about it, because it's simply a very good film. The film starts out slowly, plotwise, but draws the viewer into its world with its characters and very witty dialogue. Before long, the tension begins to build and never really lets up until the climax. There are a few great scenes that really stick out in your memory, like when the inspector uses the piece of paper with Brignon's address on it, and you're hoping that he doesn't see the address. Or, another great one, when the cabbie comes down to identify the blonde woman he gave a ride to, and the camera pans past them, one by one, as they all react, of course, except for Dora, the guilty party.

It's not going to change your life or make you ponder deep questions about the nature of the universe, but it's a damn fun ride.