''Counter Investigation'' (French: ''Contre-enquête'') is a 1947 French

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Jean Faurez and starring

Lucien Coëdel Lucien Coëdel (1899–1947) was a French film actor. He appeared in the title role in the historical film '' Roger la Honte'' and its sequel '' The Revenge of Roger''.Goble p.311 Coëdel made his screen debut in an uncredited role in Abel Gance's ...

Louis Salou Louis Vincent Goulven Salou (23 April 1902 – 12 October 1948) was a French stage and film actor. Louis was born in Oissel and died in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Paris. Selected filmography * '' White Nights in Saint Petersburg'' (1938) * ''Firs ...

and

Jany Holt Jany Holt (born Ruxandra Ecaterina Vladescu Olt, 13 May 1909 – 26 October 2005) was a Romanian-born actress, who worked principally in the French cinema. Holt married French actor Marcel Dalio in 1936, divorcing in 1939. In 1940, Holt married a ...

.Martin p.76 It was shot at the Studio François 1 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

s Roger Briaucourt and

René Moulaert René Moulaert (1901–1965) was a Belgian art director who worked on designing stage (theatre), stage and film sets.Thys p.316 Selected filmography * ''The Marriage of Mademoiselle Beulemans (1932 film), The Marriage of Mademoiselle Beulemans'' ...

Synopsis

A man wrongly accused of

murdering Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, ...

his wife escapes from

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

just before his

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

and goes on the run. He begs the retired

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

Monsieur Charles to launch his own investigation into the crime to uncover the real culprit. He embarks on this mission with the help of his wife Ginette and two former associates.

Cast

as Monsieur Charles *

as Ludovic Bresson dit Paragraphe *

as Ginette *

Maurice Teynac Maurice Teynac (8 August 1915 – 28 March 1992) was a French actor. In 1948 he starred in the film '' The Lame Devil'' under Sacha Guitry. In 1954 he appeared in London's West End in J.B. Priestley's poorly reviewed play ''The White Cou ...

as Serge de Souquières *

Abel Jacquin Abel Jacquin (1893–1968) was a French actor who appeared in more than thirty films between 1930 and 1956. Jacquin co-directed the 1933 comedy film '' Les deux 'Monsieur' de Madame''. He was also noted for his narration of the 1933 documentary '' ...

as Alain Marchal *

Paul Frankeur Paul Frankeur (29 June 1905 – 27 October 1974) was a French actor who had a successful Hollywood career and appeared in films by Jacques Tati'','' such as ''Jour de fête'' and Luis Buñuel, including ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' ...

as Teddy Coffre-Fort * Pierre-Louis as Ouverture-Eclair * Lise Topart as Michèle Marchal *

Marguerite Pierry Marguerite Pierry (26 December 1887, Paris – 20 January 1963, Paris) was a French actress. Selected filmography * ''On purge bébé'' (1931) * '' Adémaï in the Middle Ages'' (1935) * '' Paris Camargue'' (1935) * '' The Two Boys'' (1936) * ...

as Tante Brigitte *

Gisèle Préville Gisèle Préville (1918–2006) was a French film actress and beauty contestant. She entered the film industry after being crowned Miss Paris in 1934 and Miss France in 1935. While she mainly featured in French films, she also starred in the Brit ...

as Odette Marchal *

Marcel André Marcel André (2 January 1885 – 13 October 1974) was a French film actor.Goble p.87 Selected filmography * ''Si l'empereur savait ça'' (1930) - Albert (Master of the Horse) * ''Soyons gais'' (1930) - Townley * ''Le père célibataire'' (1931) ...

as Le juge d'instruction Nicolas Fournier *

Renée Dennsy Renée (without the accent in non-French speaking countries) is a French feminine given name and surname. Renée is the female form of René, with the extra "e" making it feminine according to French grammar. The name Renée is the French for ...

as La bonne

References

Bibliography

* Martin, Yves. ''Le cinéma français, 1946-1966: un jeune homme au fil des vagues''. Editions Méréal, 1998.

External links

* 1947 films French crime drama films 1947 crime drama films 1940s French-language films Films directed by Jean Faurez 1940s French films Films scored by Jean Wiener Films scored by Vincent Scotto {{1940s-France-film-stub