be it a murder mystery . be it a police procedural . be it a back stage look at seedy french music hall . quai des orfevres be all of these and but more than anything else it an amusing comedy of infidelity and jealousy and love and set in post wwii paris . it may be surprise that henri george clouzot and the director of such grim film a le corbeau or such suspenseful nail biter a diabolique and the wage of fear and be the director of this one . clouzot and however and be a shrewd film maker . in a murder mystery and he tell u and there an element of playfulness . it never totally realistic . in this i share hitchcock view and which say and a murder mystery be a slice of cake with raisin and candy fruit and and if you deny yourself this and you might as well film a documentary . quai des orfevres be a wonderful film and and it no documentary . jenny martineau ( suzy delair ) be an ambitious singer at music hall and supper club . she a flirt and she see nothing too wrong with use a bit of sex as well a talent to get a contract . her stage name be jenny latour . and she really love her husband and maurice martineau ( bernard blier ) . martineau be something of a sad sack . he her accompanist and arranger . he a bit balding and a bit chubby and jealous to a fault . then we have their neighbor and the photographer dora monnier ( simone renant ) . she blond and gorgeous ( think of rita hayworth ) and capable . she and martineau have be friend since they be child together . dora and however and be definitely not think just of friendship when she look at jenny . then come along george brignon ( charles dullin ) and a wizened and rich and dirty old man and who often have dora take art photograph of his young female protege whom he pose himself . he offer a contract for a film to jenny and and suggest a dinner at his home to discuss the detail . jenny be more than willing . maurice be furious and forbids it . jenny shout right back at him and youre jealous of the rich . well and i want my share of their dough . i be all for royalty . youre dad be a laborer and maurice shout back . so what . under louis xv and i would have be madame de pompadour . i would have heat up their tights . and after brignon be find dead with a smashed champagne bottle next to his bleed skull and there dora to try to make thing safe for jenny . but wait . inspector antoine get the case . antoine ( louis jouvet ) be a tall and tired and middle age bachelor with sore foot . he have see it all . he serve in the colony with the foreign legion and return with an adopt baby and malaria . the child be now about eight year old and antoine dotes on him . one of the first thing antoine discovers be not only do someone brain brignon with a bottle and someone shoot him in the heart . who do it . before long jenny and maurice and dora all be make up alibi and lie and and at one or another point and confessing . how will antoine discover the murderer . will we have a chance to see some great music hall song sing by jenny latour . everything become clear and but only with time and detective antoine persistence . we be leave with many kind of love lead to all kind of motif and from hair trigger jealousy to long glance . and all play with a nice mixture of gallic amusement . clouzot take u to a paris of seedy but not threaten neighborhood and to downtrodden music publisher where tune be play on the piano for buyer and to restaurant with discrete private dining room . most of all and he take u to the music hall where jenny latour often perform . we can see jenny a she sings and with couple in the seat and single men wear their coat and hat in stand room . and everyone smoke . the first third of the film and in fact and take place largely in this milieu . with jenny sing about her petite tra la la and her sweet tra la la and we follow her from try out the song at the publisher to a rehearsal to a saucy performance with jenny in a feathered hat and a corset and gartered stocking and not much else . delair and blier and renant all do wonderful job and but it louis jouvet who hold everything together . he be a marvelous actor who dislike make film . the stage be his world and and he take on film only if he happen to like the director and to make money to finance his stage work . jouvet be tall with a long face and broad cheekbone . he be not conventionally handsome but he have what it take to dominate a scene . for a look at how skillfully he could play comedy and watch him in drole de drame . he a fascinating actor . at one point he say and i have take a liking to you and miss dora monnier . me . she ask . yes . because you and i be two of a kind . when it come to woman and we will never have a chance . jouvet bring all kind of nuance to that line and from rueful regret to a gentle amusement .