Cat and Mouse

A rich businessman is found dead at home. Whether it is suicide or murder is not clear. A tired, sardonic inspector starts investigating with his cheerful assistant. The chief suspect is the wife, who knew her husband had a mistress. But there is also the possibility that the dead man was the target of a radical group, and an odd closeness forms between the inspector and the woman. Claude Lelouch's film turns the detective story into a game of cat and mouse and keeps it permanently unclear who is chasing whom. Serge Reggiani plays the inspector and Michèle Morgan the woman; their scenes together are the backbone of the film. Lelouch swaps his familiar romantic manner here for a cold humour. The answer to the question stops mattering; what matters is how the two of them weigh each other up.