The element of the burnt-out case who discards the bottle to pursue justice was used much later by Paul Newman in The Verdict but Raimu got there first in this excellent movie which may be Henri Decoin's finest hour. There's a fantastic opening which establishes the provincial town and manages to convey the feeling of a rotten centre; the rain-lashed streets and glistening cobblestones are the very essence of noir and it could be argued (but not by me) that Decoin lingers a tad too long on something that will not be seen again given that the bulk of the film is set in Raimu's large, decaying mansion and/or the courtroom where Decoin shows he's been influenced by Welles by including the ceilings in the frame. Raimu was rarely seen as a full-scale urbanite (at least I've never seen him in a role that calls for collar, tie and suit) but shows he's just as effective as a white-collar worker than a peasant/tradesman. His response to his wife's departure is to remarry immediately taking as his bride the bottle and is measuring his life with Claret when death comes to call in the shape of a stiff he finds in one of the rooms. His daughter runs with a pretty fast crowd and in nothing flat her boyfriend is tapped for the killer and despite any discernible paternal feeling Raimu takes the case and in proving the boyfriend's innocence accuses the whole town, fabric of society etc of being culpable. Like so many movies before and after the source material is a novel by Georges Simenon but the standout adaptation is the work of Henri-Georges Clouzot, on the verge of making his own mark as a first-rate director with a trio of Classics in Le Corbeau, La Salaire de la puer and Les Diaboliques to his name. All in all this is one of the finest French movies released during the Occupation and that's saying something.
Review of Strangers in the House
