Panique

Based on a novel by Georges Simenon, Panique adapts the elements of classic film noir—a murder, a femme fatale, a romantic obsession, a frame-up, all rendered in unforgiving black-and-white—into bitter and brilliant satire. Michel Simon plays Monsieur Hire, née Hirovich, an observant loner whose awkward, faintly supercilious demeanor keeps him at a distance from his neighbors. His attraction to a new neighbor, Alice (Viviane Romance), makes him a convenient patsy for an unsavory plot. Two years after World War II, Julien Duvivier delivers a stinging portrait of a society where intolerance still rules and justice is just another sideshow.