The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949) on Netflix
Bill Kirby, a Paris playboy living off his aunt, says in public that he wishes her dead. A stranger offers to kill her for a million francs. Inspector Maigret takes the case.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb5.8/101,207 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
In a Paris restaurant, Bill Kirby finds both his wife Helen and his mistress Edna Warren waiting at the bar. Helen tells Edna that Kirby can expect no money as long as his aunt lives, and walks out. A note left at Kirby's feet offers him help for a million francs, which he takes for an offer of murder, and he agrees. That same night Joseph Heurtin, a knife grinder who can barely see without his makeshift glasses, comes upon the bodies of the aunt and her maid. He panics, falls, and loses the glasses, and a man helps him away from the house. Inspector Maigret takes the case.
Cast
- George Thorpeas Comelieu
- William Cottrellas Moers
Show all 13 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Irving Allen started as director, but after only a few days of filming Charles Laughton threatened to quit unless Allen was replaced, so Laughton's friend Burgess Meredith, already cast as Heurtin, took over the film.
- The film was withheld from circulation for years and believed lost after Irving Allen, allegedly upset by Laughton's on-set behavior, obtained the rights from RKO; two nitrate prints were later rediscovered and used for home releases.
- Peter Lorre was cast as Inspector Maigret opposite Franchot Tone and Francophone stars Claude Dauphin and Victor Francen, but French financiers pulled out before shooting began and Charles Laughton was cast instead.
SPOILER
The original ending had Radek committing suicide by jumping off the Eiffel Tower, but French officials refused to let the scene be shot as scripted, afraid it might encourage real jumps from the tower.- Laughton directed several scenes himself, particularly those featuring Meredith, making The Man on the Eiffel Tower the only film besides The Night of the Hunter that he directed.
- The Man on the Eiffel Tower was the first English-language film to feature Jules Maigret, Georges Simenon's detective; Simenon's novelette had already been filmed in France by director Julien Duvivier in 1933.
- Shot entirely on location in Paris, the film gave star billing to the 'City of Paris' on both its poster and its opening credits.
