The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949)
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50% of users liked it
(463 ratings)
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… More 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, Rovi
- Directed By
- Burgess Meredith, Charles Laughton
- Written By
- Harry Brown
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1949 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Somehow comes together as a fascinating, psychological noir package.
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Cast
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Charles Laughton
as Inspector Jules Maigret
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Franchot Tone
as Radek
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Burgess Meredith
as Huertin
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Robert Hutton
as Bill Kirby
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Jean Wallace
as Edna Wallace
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Patricia Roc
as Helen Kirby
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Belita
as Gisella
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George Thorpe
as Comselieu
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William Phipps
as Janvier
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William Cottrell
as Moers
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Wilfrid Hyde-White
as Prof. Grollet
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Coaz Chase
as Waiter
