Maigret Forum Archives 1997-98

Maigret on Home Ground 4/7/97 - I'd like to find out the original French title of the 1992 Penguin Maigret on Home Ground. Steve 7/6/97 - This is a translation of L'Affaire Saint Fiacre (1933), first published in Penguin as Maigret Goes Home and re-issued under the new title to tie in with the 1992 Granada Television series of Maigret starring Michael Gambon. The story first appeared in England in 1940 as The Saint Fiacre Affair in "Maigret Keeps a Rendez-vous"). Richard Thomas Place des Vosges 6/20/97 - Does anyone know the title of a Maigret mystery about a (middle-class?) murder occurring in an apartment at Place des Vosges? Wyma 7/7/97 - There is a short story titled L'amoureux de Madame Maigret published in "Les Novelles Enquètes de Maigret" in 1944. It was translated as Madame Maigret's Admirer and appeared in England in the collection "Maigret's Pipe" published by Hamish Hamilton in 1977 and in a Penguin paperback in 1984. A lot of the action takes place in the Place des Vosges, if I remember correctly, and in the Maigrets' flat overlooking the square. Richard Thomas 7/10/97 - The title sought by Wyma is L'ombre chinoise. (Maigret Mystified, The Shadow in the Courtyard) John H. Dirckx Stamp Collecting 7/24/97 - Which Maigret title had stamp collecting as a subject, or in which stamp collecting was discussed? Lynn Piotrowicz 5/17/98 - In the short story, Le client le plus obstiné du monde (The Most Obstinate Customer in the World), the obstinate customer, Raymond Auger, was a stamp dealer. 6/19/98 - Samuel Meyer, Le fou de Bergerac (The Madman of Bergerac) had pursued his illegal activities in Algeria under the guise of being a postage-stamp dealer. (And in another Simenon, though not a Maigret, Jonas Milk, "the little man from Archangel," Le petit homme d'Arkhangelsk, was also a stamp dealer.) Steve Brown Shoes 7/28/97 - I am reading Maigret et l'homme du banc in French. I happened to pick up the English translation Maigret and the Man on the Bench translated by Eileen Ellenbogen. In French the first chapter is called Les Souliers Jaunes. In the English version it is called "The Brown Shoes." I am very puzzled by this translation, as much is made of the fact the man is wearing such odd shoes. But what is so odd about brown shoes and how can jaune be translated as 'brown'? So, please if anyone out there has noticed or considered this question I would love to hear your take on this translation. Kathryn Wiebusch 8/1/97 - By souliers jaunes Simenon means shoes of light tan or buff leather--not dyed black. Mme Thouret is shocked to see light-colored shoes on the feet of her dead husband because, like most middle-class Frenchmen in the 1950s, he customarily wore only dark or black shoes. In British English, any shoes of russet, yellow, or tan color are called brown. You can verify this in any of a number of language books, such as H. L. Mencken's "The American Language". Ou bien...vous pourriez interroger un Anglais! John H. Dirckx Maigret Films 9/4/97 - Looking for a list of films of the series with Bruno Cremer and of the series with Rupert Davis. Are there video tape versions available? Andreas 9/6/97 - Peter Haining's "The Complete Maigret" lists "all" the Maigret films. He only shows the series for Bruno Cremer, "Maigret" (Dune, 1991-), but 52 with Rupert Davies. As soon as I get a chance, I'll put a film list up on the site. As far as video tape versions, maybe someone else knows the answer... Steve 9/6/97 - Thanks. In France the definitely last movie of the Bruno Cremer series has just been filmed and it must be something like no. 25 or 26... Andreas First Maigret 9/6/97 - Is the novel Monsieur Gallet décédé the first novel with Jules Maigret? Andreas 9/13/97 - The first one seems to have been Pietr-le-Leton, one of the ten published in 1931, dated "Winter 1929-1930." (The four "pre-Maigrets" written as Christian Brulls and George Sim were apparently written earlier in 1929.) Steve Maigret à New York 10/23/97 - I'm looking for a book review of Maigret à NY. Can anyone help me please? Dave Davis TV-series music 12/29/97 - I'm searching for the title music from the tv series with Rupert Davies. It's a nice accordion... Does anyone know what it is or how I can find it? Jürgen Hinderer 12/31/97 - The BBC put out a record at that time with a number of police/detective theme tunes on it, including the one from Maigret. I don't recall the name now. Andrew Rideout One man's Maigret 1/13/98 - The wonderful thing, to me, about Maigret as a character, is he goes completely against all the accepted platitudes about what a character in his situation should be. He is not particularly dynamic, but rather static; he is not tough, but though strong in some ways rather a soft-hearted man; he does not think things out logically but rather ruminates and tries to instinctively insinuate himself into the victim's situation; he focuses on the victim and those left around him rather than the clues; and he does not represent divine moral judgement but rather human and social expediency. One gets the impression he pursues killers not so much because he is outraged by their actions but because he simply must. He is the polar opposite of that hero of Victorian puritanism, Sherlock Holmes, and as such, as a man living the best he can in a morally ambiguous universe, THE great detective of the 20th Century. Bruce Bonafede Maigret's Paris Addresses 2/14/98 - Going to Paris in March... Can anyone help me with the street addresses where Maigret lived in Paris? Merci, mille fois. Katrina Wiebusch 2/15/98 - Assuming you mean more specifically than "Boulevard Richard-Lenoir," one clue is that Julien Foucrier tells Maigret, at the conclusion of Maigret Takes a Room (Maigret en Meublé), that he lived [in the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir] "a few houses along from you, on the corner of the Rue du Chemin-Vert." 2/19/98 - Another Maigret address appears at the conclusion of Maigret on the Defensive (Maigret se défend), where M. says "Rue des Francs-Bourgeois... I lived near there for some time in Place des Vosges." Steve 3/29/98 - In Maigret et son mort (Maigret's Dead Man, Maigret's Special Murder) Maigret puts his address in a newpaper ad to contact a witness, as "132, bd Richard-Lenoir". Eduardo M. Moccero 4/17/98 - Can it be a coincidence that if you want to order the revue published by "Association 813" (Les amis de la roman policière), you send your check to Jean Louis Touchant at 22 Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, 75011 Paris? Of course, Maigret lived down the street between the Rue du Chemin-Vert and the Boulevard Voltaire, between #33 and #62 is my best guess. Oz Childs Simenon in Rexroth? 2/18/98 - I am researching the long poem, "Thou Shall Not Kill", by Kenneth Rexroth, an eulogy to Dylan Thomas, written in 1955. In the piece he makes mention of Simenon, "Again/Another, Simenon foretold,/His end at a glance. 'I dare you/To pull the trigger.' She shut her eyes/And spilled gin over her dress./The pistol wobbled in his hand./It took them hours to die." I was wondering if the quote actually came from a Simenon novel or not. Any help would be greatly apreciated. Alan Hepner Maigret Reprinted 2/22/98 - It seems that Presses de la Cité, Simenon's publisher, is letting other publishers reprint Maigrets right now, and many titles unavailable at Presses de la Cité are available at the FNAC bookstore, whose online address is: http://www2.fnac.fr/home.html. Warning: The prices look very reasonable until you realize that taxes and shipping more than double the price. Still, comparable to buying by mail from a foreign-language bookstore in the US, with less delay I hope. Oz Childs Maigret Theme? 2/25/98 - Anyone have any idea where I can get hold of the theme music for the original BBC (Rupert Davies) series? I own and have read the majority of the novels but the theme is so evocative of my own childhood and the then incredibly exotic Parisian atmosphere... John Trenor 3/5/98 - The theme music appears on a fairly recent CD "Thunderthemes are go", number SUMCD 4104, published by MCPS/Sound and Media Ltd. It costs 3.49 pounds sterling in my local music shop. Andrew Rideout Maigret TV series? 3/11/98 - I'm a student at Louvain and I'm trying to find any copies of the Maigret TV series. Can anyone help me? I'm afraid I need it very, very soon. Thanks. Caroline Brouillard Maigret locations? 3/25/98 - Does there exist a listing of the Paris "locations" which appear in the Maigret novels? Or, to put it less obliquely -- as a Maigret fan, what should I be sure not to miss when visiting Paris? Mark Craft 3/26/98 - Well, actually I'm working on one, but it's gonna take a while... Meanwhile, how about "Simenon's Paris" (1970)? Steve 3/31/98 - Hurry up, I'm going May 28! I have a copy of "Simenon's Paris". While interesting, it is not very useful for a traveller. It consists of short excerpts (each about a paragraph in length) from Simenon's novels, accompanied by a Franck drawing. Very pleasant to peruse. A slightly more useful book is "The Cafes of Paris: A Guide" by Christine Graf, which has a chapter called "Maigret's Cafes.." Mark Craft 4/17/98 - Reply to Maigret's Paris Addresses (above) Oz Childs Videos / Music / Maigret in Court 6/2/98 - What a great surprise to find this page. I am looking for videos available for purchase of the Rupert Davies and Michael Gambon "Maigret". Also, the theme music from the Gambon series. This page does not reflect much interest in the Maigret depicted by Gambon, am I to assume that he is not as popular as the others? Also, any comments on the ending of Maigret in Court would be appreciated. I have only just finished the book today and was disappointed in Maigret's decision on how to end the case. Morally, it seemed unlike him. Anyone? Samantha Scott 7/12/98 - It's certainly unusual for Maigret to "overlook" the possibility of a crime being committed.... although nothing was certain. Possibly it was his disgust with the murderer of the young child and the sordid crime, partially to give something back to Meurant, or maybe the fear that an unarmed Meurant might be one more victim. True, he was uncomfortable.... "beginning to regret that he had not told Lapointe everything that he knew." But in the end "it was as if the picture-framer were silently thanking him." Steve 8/3/98 - Samantha Scott's query on Maigret in Court led me to re-read my copy (Maigret aux assises) last night. The Masterplots summary: Maigret tells the court that he is not satisfied of the guilt of a man accused of murdering his aunt and a small child the aunt was babysitting. Maigret has discovered that the accused's wife has had lovers, news which the accused refuses to credit. A last-minute witness testifies that just before the murder, the wife spent several afternoons in a cheap motel with a particular man. The case is now doubtful, and accused is acquitted, but Maigret's inspectors follow him as the accused discovers the identity of the lover. One inspector is able to verify that the accused has acquired a gun. However, no one stops the (former) accused from tracking the lover down and killing the man who destroyed his life, and who has been responsible for taking two innocent lives. As the book ends, Maigret is reluctantly preparing to interrogate the man's wife, who must have tried to frame her husband, and who may be liable as an accomplice for the deaths of the two victims. I think the ending is consistent with Maigret's character. If the ex-accused wanted to confront the killer, that was his right. If he was armed, that was, though perhaps illegal, probably prudent. And if he ended up killing the real criminal, justice was served. Maigret had a great respect for the moral autonomy of the men and women he confronted, and little respect for the legal system he served. He was obligated to protect innocent life if he could, but was reluctant to intervene to protect the guilty from retribution. Oz Childs Maigret Wounded? 7/12/98 - Assouline's biography of Simenon, somewhere between pages 92 and 94, reports that Maigret was wounded three time in his career. I am aware of him being wounded in Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett and The Madman of Bergerac, but what was the third case in which he was wounded? Dave Drake 7/12/98 - I wonder if that's not based on the statement when he gets shot in The Madman of Bergerac: "You wouldn't have thought he'd already been wounded three times in the course of his career," (On ne dirait pas qu'il a été blessé trois fois dans sa vie), which would make that time actually the fourth. Steve Still Looking for Michael Gambon Videos 7/12/98 - Does anyone know how to obtain videos of the Michael Gambon series? Or how many were filmed? Samantha Scott 7/13/98 - Twelve Maigret stories were filmed with Michael Gambon in the title role, according to Peter Haining's 'The Complete Maigret'. The first series of six stories was issued on three videos, which seem to have disappeared from sight now. Keep a look out for secondhand copies, or clearance sales by video retailers. I don't think the second series made it onto video. Richard Thomas Looking for Gino Cervi Videos 7/15/98 - I'd like very much to find any copy of the Italian Maigret series with Gino Cervi. Thanks. Ings. Monnanni Moutalabian Simenon Society? 7/23/98 - Does anyone know of a Simenon society or club? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks. Howard Ginsberg Julian Symons on Simenon/Maigret 7/31/98 - I'd like to pass on some comments from Symon's history of the detective story and crime novel, Mortal Consequences. Symons honored only 2 characters with entire chapters: Holmes and Maigret. Because Maigret and Simenon's other characters are so convincing as real men and women, the improbability of some of the early plots is disconcerting (e.g., Maigret hurling himself out a train in The Madman of Bergerac). But it doesn't matter; the stories are interesting and convincing. The settings never fail, giving always a sensation of personal involvement. The weather is described with such vigor and pleasure that it is as though the writer were actually soaking up the rain or sun that he is writing about. The characters grow in this thick soil of sensuous experience. Everything is filtered through the personality of Maigret. He really is the stories in a way that is not true of any other detective. Symons' favorite is Mon Ami Maigret (The Methods of Maigret in some U.S. editions): "the finest qualities without any defects." He praises Maigret's Memoirs for plausibly extending the myth of Maigret without "the tediums of Holmesiana." "Maigret is a typical bourgeois, but with a breadth of sympathy that most bourgeois lack. He is one of the most completely realized characters in all modern fiction. Simenon is a master of the crime story, but his mastery rests primarily in the creation of Jules Maigret." Amen. Jim Doherty 7/31/98 - Symons wrote a Maigret short story of his own as well, appearing in his Great Detectives: Seven Original Investigations (Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1981) - About Maigret and the Stolen Papers. Steve Menaces de mort 8/1/98 - The Maigret short story Menaces de mort has never been published in English. Originally serialized in 6 parts in Révolution national in 1942, it didn't appear in print again until Tout Simenon, the complete works, 50 years later. Even Jean Forest's otherwise comprehensive Les Archives Maigret doesn't have a summary. Now, to fill the gap, here's my translation and notes: Death Threats. Comments welcome. Steve Maigret's Mistake? 8/3/98 - In Maigret's Mistake, [Maigret se trompe], what was he mistaken about? He said he never thought the surgeon was guilty, so that wasn't it. And why was the gun left on the table? Steve 8/3/98 - Reply to Maigret in Court (above) Oz Childs Maigret's Home on the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir (click the map to enlarge) 8/7/98 - A month or so ago I tried to find 130 Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, but that number is certainly in the wrong place! With one's back to the Place de la Bastille, No. 130 is on the right hand side, right up past the point where it is crossed by the Avenue de la République (i.e. north of the intersection of the Boulevard Voltaire). Fenton Bresler's The Mystery of Georges Simenon contains a photograph of a two-story building, with the caption "Maigret's 'home' at 130 Blvd. Richard-Lenoir, Paris; he lived on the non-existent fourth floor." In fact this appears to be a photograph of the houses on the odd-numbered side of the street (i.e. the left, facing north) just beyond the intersection of the Rue du Chemin-Vert. That is where Maigret lived, according to internal evidence from most of the stories which mention it - as surmised by Oz Childs on the bulletin board. David McBrien A Crime in Holland 8/7/98 - I have just returned from a holiday in Holland and went to Delfzijl, but it is now much too modernised and extended to bear much resemblance to the little port in A Crime in Holland. Whilst in Holland I saw an episode of the French Maigret series (with Dutch subtitles!). It was actually based on the Delfzijl story, but the entire location had been moved to Finland, presumably because of Finnish finance for the episode. Despite this the production values and the Maigret of the French actor were excellent. David McBrien 8/10/98 - Many thanks to David McBrien for his reports on Holland and the Blvd. Richard-Lenoir. (And to Steve for the lovely map.) I wonder if David also went to the Quai des Orfevres? I did last summer. I was unable to enter the building, but I got the impression that the Police Judicaire may be moving to new quarters. I did find a restaurant patronized by the PJ people, who definitely look like plainclothes cops -- though it doesn't resemble anything you might call a "brasserie". I visited the Blvd. Richard-Lenoir too, and had a hard time deciding which side of the street he would have lived on. But I think the east side, because he could see his building from the bus stop at the corner of rue du Chemin-Vert. I also think he would have been a little closer to Blvd. Voltaire, because on one very rainy night, he walks to Pardon's house on rue Popincourt by going to the corner of Voltaire: If he was very near the corner of Chemin-Vert, I don't think that would have been his route. Clearly the "130" number is wrong. Oz Childs Brasserie Dauphine / Pardon's Addresses 8/11/98 - Regarding Oz Childs' enquiry about whether I visited the Quai des Orfèvres, the answer is yes, although I have never attempted to enter the building. In the Place Dauphine, behind the Palais de Justice, there are three cafés, any one of which could have been the model for the Brasserie Dauphine - the most likely candidate, in my view, being the one nearest the Quai des Orfèvres, on the southern side of the Place. It is called the Bar du Caveau. It has a narrow terrace outside and is well worth a visit, if only for a beer or coffee, to enjoy the haven of peace which the Place Dauphine is, right in the middle of the Île de la Cité. Of course we have to remember that the Maigret novels are fiction, and some of the most frequently used places are bound to be disguised. There are a lot of inconsistencies between different books anyway. For example in the short story Madame Maigret's Admirer The Maigrets are said to have lived in the Places des Vosges for 'many years'. Pardon also moves about. In Maigret's Pickpocket he lives at 76B Boulevard Voltaire, in earlier books he lives in Rue Picpus, and Oz Childs locates him in Rue Popincourt. I haven't read all the books yet and I haven't begun to try and note all these locations. However, I am sure the reason why all this is so facinating is that one gets such a powerful sense of place from reading the stories that it is dificult to accept that all the locations are not real since most of them seem to be. Fortunately most of the parts of Paris which Simenon used have not been substantially changed since the 1930s, unlike, say, London, because Paris happily avoided the remodelling brought about by Hitler. Anyway I look forward to further contributions to the Bulletin Board. David McBrien 8/25/98 - Brasserie Dauphine - Patrick Marnham wrote in a footnote (The Man Who Wasn't Maigret, 1992, p.139): "Maigret's usual haunt was the Brasserie Dauphine, in real life the Trois Marchés on the corner of the rue de Harley, which has since disappeared. This has created a vacuum, usually filled, so far as tourists are concerned, by the Restaurant Paul in the place Dauphine." Steve Please Help Identify Omnibus Editions 8/27/98 - I've just received a helpful update from Brian Monckton on some of the Maigret "Omnibus" editions in the bibliography, which has inspired me to get to work on a "Maigret in collections" section. Starting with the "Simenon Omnibus", and "Maigret Omnibus" series, I'd appreciate if anyone with copies of any of these could help. In some cases I have no data, in others it needs expansion or correction. Here's the list: Maigret in Omnibus. Thanks for your help. Steve Delfzijl booklet 8/30/98 - When David McBrien was in Delfzijl, did he get hold of a copy of the 15-page illustrated booklet (in Dutch, of course!) about Simenon and the town published by the local tourist board? It identifies the locations from Maigret in Holland that still exist. It was published in 1990 when, apparently, the girl on whom Beetje Liewens was based was still living in the town. Her father's farm, demolished in 1959, stood where the Maigret statue now stands. Maigret's Bars 8/30/98 - Regarding the bars in the area around the Quai des Orfèvres, a piece in the (UK) Independent newspaper on 16 August 1997 mentioned a small wine bar named Le Taverne Henri IV near the Pont Neuf. The writer stated: "I was pleased to learn that I was following in the footsteps of another celebrated customer. A brass plaque on the wall points out that the bar was a favourite of Commissaire Principal Jules Maigret... Above the sign, there are a couple of photographs of the detective's creator, Georges Simenon." Richard Thomas 9/4/98 - There are two references which might be Le Taverne Henri IV: In Maigret and the Spinster: Maigret considered ordering sandwiches from the Brasserie Dauphine but decided to go to the little bar opposite the statue of Henri IV, in the middle of Pont-Neuf, where he ordered a ham sandwich. A game of belote was in progress at a table near the bar.... and in The Lock at Charenton: Émile Ducrau asked Maigret if he knew the Tabac Henri IV, in the middle of Pont-Neuf, not far from the Police Judiciaire. He said it was a kind of freighter's bourse. It was there he received the news of his son's death. Steve Delfzijl booklet 9/4/98 - Richard Thomas asks if I obtained the Simenon booklet from the tourist office in Delfzijl. I did visit the VVV office, which is located in the railway station, but I found it very difficult to obtain information about the location of the Maigret statue, which the VVV lady seemed very suprised that I wanted to see, and nothing was said about the booklet. I eventually found the statue, and the principal location of the story, alongside the Damsterdiep canal (which Simenon calls the Amsterdiep in the book). Although there is one large timber-yard in the town on the opposite side of the canal, the canal seems no longer to be used for floating logs and it is difficult to imagine being able to cross the canal by walking across the logs as Cornelius and Maigret did. Stan the Killer / M and the Spinster 9/4/98 - I have just finished reading Maigret and the Spinster and had noted the reference to the café opposite the statue of Henry IV. I was struck by the fact that the action of the novel takes place simultaneously with the surveillance conducted upon a Polish gang holed up in a hotel in the Rue Biragues by Lucas (who overlooks the hotel from a window opposite) and by Janvier who is acting as a waiter/customer on the terrace of a café on the Rue St Antoine opposite the end of the Rue Biragues. This is essentially the same investigation described in the short story 'Stan the Killer' although there are some differences in detail. The hotel is called the Hotel des Arcades in the novel and the Hotel Beauséjour in the story, the café is called Le Vieux Normand in the novel and the Tonnelet Bourguignon in the story. Are there any other correspondences between short stories and the novels? David McBrien Brunel University, UK 9/6/98 - Stan the Killer references appear in two others Maigrets, once in the short story Maigret and the Surly Inspector, where a supposed suicide shouts a message into a police box before shooting himself, and something about the shouted message troubles M, since it resembles the last words of Stan the Killer, a message that had not been published in the papers. In that story we learned that "in October of the previous winter a Pole, Stan the Killer, who had attacked a number of farms in the north of France, had holed up in a small hotel at the corner of the Rue de Birague and the Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine." Another reference to a variant of the same case shows up in M's Dead Man / M's Special Murder, in a section about records, where "Lucas had an endurance story as well, known as the Tale of the Crippled Blockhead: To keep watch on a small private house - at the corner of the Rue de Birague, near the Place des Vosges, he had been disguised as a paralyzed old man in a wheelchair, whom every morning a nurse pushed to the window where he stayed all day, a spreading beard, fed by a spoon. This had gone on for 10 days, at the end of which he'd practically lost the use of his legs." Stan the Killer has another "claim to fame," as it is told somewhat differently in the two translations. In Anthony Boucher's, there's a picture of Stan on the wall from a US newspaper, which never appeared in the original French, in which, as in Jean Stewart's translation, there's a section about branding women prisoners in the US. (which Boucher apparently disliked.) Steve Delfzijl booklet 9/14/98 - I sympathise with David McBrien and his experience at the Delfzijl VVV. For a tourist organisation they don't seem to be on the ball when it comes to publicising the town's links with a world-renowned writer. The lady on duty when I visited (several years ago) had no real idea where the Maigret statue was, and made no effort to point out the Simenon booklet that I happened to notice on the shelves before I left. Incidentally, the booklet states that the idea of Maigret and Cornelius crossing the canal by walking on floating logs is "pure fantasy". There certainly were logs at the side of the canal in Simenon's day, but "a wide channel had to be maintained as at the time the Damsterdiep was still a shipping canal". Richard Thomas Maigret films & omnibus volumes 9/22/98 - This site lists twelve titles of films for TV made with Michael Gambon. The last six, made in 1993, have never, to my recollection, been transmitted in the U.K. Have they ever been shown elsewhere? The novels on which the first six of the Gambon series, made in 1992, were based were each separately published in the UK in 1992 by Penguin books and all six were included in a hardback omnibus published in 1992 by Book Club Associates ( by arrangement with Hamish Hamilton who may have produced an edition for normal retail sale - I can't be sure because I have only seen the BCA edition of which I have a copy) David McBrien Maigret audios 9/24/98 - The BBC produced a couple of audio-cassettes entitled Georges Simenon's Maigret with Maurice Denham playing Maigret and Michael Gough playing Simenon. Each story (there are six of them) begins with a discussion between the two of them and then moves into acted-out shortened versions. It works extremely well and catches the atmosphere, which is so much a feature of the stories. There is also a cassette read by Geoffrey Hutchings (who played Lucas in the Gambon series), but I have not heard that. Clive S. Smith Anyone know of a source for these? Steve Maigret audios 10/3/98 - The BBC audio tapes mentioned by Clive S Smith were issued together with the title 'Maigret' in 1992. They contained four 45-minutes stories - Maigret and the Minister, Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets, Maigret and Monsieur Charles and Maigret and the Madman of Bergerac. The stories were from the radio series 'Simenon's Maigret', first broadcast in 1976. Five stories (not including any of those issued in 1992) were repeated in 1983 under the title 'The Best of Maigret'. Clive S Smith is right in saying they worked very well. BBC Radio also broadcast a 90-minute one-off play, 'Maigret and the Millionaires', in (I think) 1984, with the same actors as Maigret and Lucas but without the assistance of Michael Gough's Simenon. Four double audio cassette collections of 16 Maigret short stories read by Geoffrey Hutchings have been issued by EMI. The collections are titled Maigret's Pipe (1992), Maigret's Mistake (1992), Maigret Investigates (1993) and Madame Maigret's Admirer (1993). All these, and the BBC cassettes, are now hard to find. Maigret films 10/3/98 - The last six Michael Gambon titles were shown in the UK during March and April 1993, as listed in Peter Haining's The Complete Maigret. With a new producer and new directors, they were more pacy and dramatic than the first series shown the previous year, perhaps in response to reviews in the UK press. In a preview of the second series, The Times of 10 March 1993 stated: 'It is easy to see why neither critics nor audiences approved of the first series. Perhaps some remembered Rupert Davies's BBC Maigret in the 1960s, while others missed the excitement of a puzzle, the grittiness of "Prime Suspect", or the Britishness of "Miss Marple"'. Not all the critics had disapproved of the first series, however. On 10 February 1992 The Daily Telegraph hailed the opening 90-minute episode, 'The Patience of Maigret', as "a masterpiece of understated atmosphere" with "beautifully tailored dialogue"'. Richard Thomas Maigret in Chinese? 10/8/98 - Does anyone know of any translations of Maigret in Chinese, and if so, where they can be bought? Thanks. Xavier Paulin Maigret bestseller? 10/13/98 - Anyone have an idea on how to get data about the sales of Maigret novels, or all Simenon's novels? I would be interested in knowing which Maigret is the more read, in the world (all translations), or in French (original edition). Any idea about where to start this investigation? Anybody remember hearing about data of that type? Richard V. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine? 10/13/98 - It seems that most (all?) of the Maigret short stories in English first appeared in the EQMM. Does anyone know any of the dates and issues associated with the stories? From the three I've found in EQ collections (Inspector M. Deduces, ...Thinks, ...Pursues) the translations are not the Jean Stewart ones. Maybe Blochman or Boucher? Any others in the EQ anthologies? Steve Maigret film in Prague? 10/17/98 - A couple of months ago, a film shooting of Maigret took place in Prague Vinohrady, in the street next to where I used to live. The street had been given the look of a Paris street. There was a "commissariat de police" at one end, and a "Pension Notre-Dame" at the other end. Can anyone tell me more about this film? Thanks. Bernard D. Not too surprising, after reading the chapter in Peter Haining's "The Complete Maigret": Maigret's Paris... in Budapest about how Granada Television's Maigret series was shot in Budapest to capture the spirit of Maigret's Paris. Steve Simenon Society 10/25/98 - To all interested: In Brussels, Belgium we have created a Simenon Society called "Les amis de Georges Simenon." We have more than 200 members, mostly French speaking, but obviously other people are most welcome. We have a statutory assembly once a year, and issue an annual yearbook called "Les cahiers Georges Simenon." For more information: E-mail to Serge.Proost@village.uunet.be. Serge Proost Michael Gambon Maigret on Video? 10/27/98 - Michael Gambon is the "Maigret" I see when reading any of the books. He certainly fits the physcial description and is just plain enjoyable to watch in the role. Does anyone know where I can purchase the videos from the TV series? Gemma L. Maigret on Video / PBC? 10/29/98 - About a year ago I watched a few Maigret episodes on the PBC (Public Broadcasting Co.) 'Mystery' series. Those films were produced, as I remember, by BBC. After that introduction to Maigret, I read several dozen Maigrets and other Simenons. I'd hoped that PBC would bring the Maigret series back soon, but it does not appear on the new schedule. Can anyone suggest where Maigret videos can be rented or purchased ??? I am planning to send regular requests to the PBC programming department requesting a new showing of the Maigret series. I invite other Maigret fans visiting this site to send similar requests to PBC -- and I hope the more requests PBC receives the sooner we will see Maigret on TV again. Regards, Vladimir, Vancouver Canada Maigret (Richard Harris) with Mme Maigret (Barbara Shelley) in the 1988 HTV production, which moved the original to a contemporary Paris setting. Richard Harris as Maigret? 11/5/98 - Has anyone seen and have an opinion on the 1988 British movie 'Maigret' with Richard Harris? (I find that casting really odd). I would like to see it for it's curiosity value if nothing else. Dave, Toronto Canada Peter Haining has a section on the film in his "The Complete Maigret," in which he says, "The reception for the production, though, was universally bad. Peter Waymark in The Times speaking for the newspapers in general said: 'For those of us who admired Rupert Davies as Simenon's ruminative, pipe-smoking detective in the BBC Maigret series in the sixties, anyone else attempting the role must seem like an impostor. Even so, Richard Harris seems to have gone out of his way to make his portrayal as least like Davies' as possible. The trouble is that he is not much like Simenon's Maigret either. As played by Harris, he is a big, shambling figure, with a battered hat, glasses, scruffy blonde hair and a croaky Irish accent. Harris even gives him an Irish name, McGrey. He also calls his Peugeot a Pewjo." To read the entire section, click here. Steve Maigret on Video: The Answer 11/15/98 - In my bulletin posting of 10/29/98 I asked about Maigret on video. Now, after checking with almost every major video store, both in North America and Britain, and receiving a negative response each time, it can be safely concluded that Maigret on video is not currently available. It leaves Maigret fans in US and Canada with the following option: request the Public TV (PBS) to repeat the Maigret series; and keep requesting until such request is granted. Similar requests can be also directed to other TV companies that show detective or mystery shows, like A&E. Contact information (names of executives, phone, fax, e-mail, etc.) for these requests can be found on the company's web sites. Regards, Vladimir Vancouver Canada Non-Simenon Maigrets 11/21/98 - I recently received from Jérôme Devémy of Paris, a copy of Boileau-Narcejac's pastiche, "L'Avant-dernière enquête de Maigret", a Maigret story written à la manière de Simenon which appeared (along with a dozen or so others of other mystery writers) in their 1983 "Usurpation d'identité". Jérôme also told me about a novel by Nishimura Kyôtarô, the Japanese mystery writer, in which Maigret, Ellery Queen and Hercule Poirot were all invited to Tokyo, which was translated into French as "Les grands détectives n'ont pas froid aux yeux." I already knew of Julian Symons "About Maigret and the Stolen Papers," which appeared in his 1981 "Great Detectives: Seven Original Investigations". Are there more? Does anyone know of any other Maigret pastiches - Maigret stories written in the style of Simenon by other authors? I've posted a copy of Symons' About Maigret and the Stolen Papers and my translation of Boileau-Narcejac as Maigret's Next-to-Last Case on the Maigret Texts page. What do you think? Would you have guessed that they weren't Simenons? Steve Maigret Theme Tune 11/23/98 - Can anyone give me a lead on the theme tune commissioned for a BBC TV 1950's dramatisation of the Georges Simenon 'Maigret' series, starring Rupert Davies? Intriguingly, the tune was written by an English composer, in the French music hall style, for the accordion. My interest is to locate a copy of the sheet and a recording of the original. If you have anything on this I should be delighted. Thanks, Andrew Hall Suffolk, England Une Confidence de Maigret 12/3/98 - Does anyone have any information about this novel? It's out of print in French and English at present. I believe that there was a film version made (Maigret Has Doubts) but that also seems impossible to obtain. Violet It doesn't seem to be out of print in French, or at least I found a copy offered online at alapage.com, published by Fleuve Noir 3/96 - 30.40 F. Even if it's out of print in English, it's easy to find on the used book network, for example, at ABE. There was a Rupert Davies / BBC episode of Une Confidence de Maigret as "A Man Condemned," broadcast 10/29/63, but I don't know of any other, nor of any available... Steve Some Maigret Recurring Themes: a query 12/10/98 - Simenon had great imagination and variety, but he obviously turned to some recurring themes (probably from real life) in the series. I have vague memories of some of these from 4 decades of Maigret reading, and I'll bet that Steve and others can pinpoint some or all of these memories. (1) The "Polish" gang of ruthless gangsters who ravage remote farm houses but live in squalor in Paris between crimes. (In one novel I think they are Czech or Slovak). What are all their appearances? (2) The small, weird Montmartres character who is "The Flea" in M and the Flea. He appears with other names in several other novels or short stories. Which? (3) The young fugitive who hides for days under the bed of his accomplice without the knowledge of someone else who lives in the apartment. He is mentioned in passing in M in Court (M aux Assises) -- which I am now re-reading, and I remember that he appeared in one or more other stories. Which? I wonder if it is true that "the Flea," under various names, appears in EVERY Maigret Pigalle story as surely as Inspector Lognon does? Stir your memories or check your texts. I have lent my whole M collection to my newly addicted brother-in-law. Jim Doherty Starting with question 3, in addition to M in Court, (where one of the two young robbers Lucas arrested (in a case peripheral to the main plot) hid under his accomplice's bed, and the mother never knew), I can think of three more "hiding under the bed" cases: 1) In M and the Young Girl, (M and the Dead Girl), the mudered girl, Louise Laboine, had stayed under her friend Jeanine Armenieu's bed when Jeanine had lived in her aunt's house. The aunt discovered Louise there by accident one day, when she dropped something on the floor. 2) In M and the Man on the Bench, Albert Jorisse, the murdered Louis Thouret's daughter's boyfriend, spent a night under his friend Hubert Thévenard's bed hiding from the police. When Hubert's aunt came home she found a sausage missing, a handkerchief and crumbs under the bed. 3) And in M Takes a Room, (M Rents a Room), M found Paulus, a suspect in a bar robbery, hiding under the bed of the boarding house proprietress, Mlle. Clément, when M was staying there to investigate Janvier's having been shot outside the house. Any more? Steve Searching for Hurst and Blackett editions 12/23/98 - I throughly enjoy reading Simenon's works and have managed to collect all of the titles published in England by George Routledge and Hamish Hamilton but I am missing the three published by Hurst and Blackett: Introducing Inspector Maigret, Inspector Maigret Investigates and the Triumph of Inspector Maigret. I would very much like to be able to purchase these very early titles (1933 and 1934) and I have searched everywhere on the net and almost all of the well known book search engines. Is there anyone out there who has these books and is prepared to swap or sell them? Any other Maigret pastiche? 12/23/98 - Are there any Maigret pastiche (apart from the Julian Symons one mentioned earlier in this bulletin board)? I am a publisher and I would be very happy to publish a good Maigret pastiche provided that it doesn't infringe copyright. I understand that a pastiche does not infringe copyright provided that the author is not suggesting that the book is by the original author. I also understand that there is no copyright in the name of a literary character such as Inspector Maigret. Any comments on this would be most welcome. Martin Breese, Breese Books Limited, London. Three Maigret questions 12/23/98 - 1) Does anyone know where Saint-Aubin-les-Marais, the site of Maigret's Rival, is located? My atlas has five Saint-Aubins, but no "les-Marais." 2) Does anyone recall an examining magistrate calling on Maigret in his office? (I don't recall any such visit.) 3) Two peripheral characters -- Inspector Louis' wife in Maigret and the Informer and the wife of an old partially paralyzed gentleman in Maigret in Montmartre -- were run over by buses. Does anyone know of any other bus victims in the Maigret series? Thanks and best wishes for the holidays, Dave Drake. 3) Well, "techinically speaking" another case of bus victims in the Maigret series might be at the beginning of M's Little Joke: before M spots the "Corpse in a Cupboard" article, he notices a newspaper headline about 8 people killed when a bus fell down a ravine not far from Grenoble. Steve Tucson, Arizona, USA 12/29/98 - I'm excited to have found this web site. I enjoy all of Simenon's books. I just happened onto The White Horse Inn many years ago, and then moved on to the Maigrets and Intimate Memoirs. His section on living in Tucson intrigued me, of course since I was here. So I have found the house that he rented from the judge's wife... it's very near downtown in a special, smaller neighborhood of elegant homes which luckily were not torn down... It's now used as a lawyer's office I believe... Kept up in good condition. I also worked several years ago as a health aid and met Mrs. Hodges, who ran the the Little Sunshine school that Mark attended. She of course remembered them all. That school building is now a fraternity house on University Street... near the University of Arizona campus. Please e-mail me regarding anything I could investigage for your members...The old Pioneer Hotel sustained a bad fire about 20-25 years ago... but it was truly elegant with a wee bit of Western lifestyle. Ruth Jenkins

Forum Archives: 1997-98   1999   2000   2001   2002   2003   2004   2005   2006   2007   2008   2009   2010   2011   2012  
film and tv '97-'01   Index