User Reviews

Good points: Patricia Hayes being very amusing in a small part; Lucas being his witty self; nice location shots around Honfleur harbour; attempt at Maigret understanding personal tragedy in his usual way.

Bad points: weak plot with implausible motive (made worse by omitting a key fact from the original story that would have given the plot a bit of sense); a pathetic fight scene compounding the plot holes.

Directed by Terrence Dudley. Listen to some of Peter Davison's Dr Who DVD commentaries for his opinion of Dudley - not flattering.

Saw this on the UK Talking Pictures channel, who are showing all 4 series of Maigret, originally early 60s BBC. We're in the 4th series now, and the quality has generally improved, though this one was harder work to watch.

This is due to several points, the director decided to chuck in a street scene of Lucas playing football with some kids near the harbour (the episode is set on the Normandy coast, where Maigret and his trusty assistant have been clearing up a case) - and it's not clear if this was just padding out the time, or showing us one of the characters in the case being a surly so-and-so? Other points were a sub-plot with Mrs Maigret waiting anxiously back in Paris with some theatre tickets (would he get back in time?) -- and a fight scene that was so ludicrous (US wrestling has more convincing 'punches' not quite landing!) that it may have been included for comedy reasons only?!

For the 2nd time in these 4 series, I find myself agreeing with the review (or part of it) by Sir-Obolong-Fitzybollongs (which given how inaccurate his views usually are, is quite disturbing). But he has a valid point in this one, the direction is quite odd at times, even allowing for the original book probably not being the easiest to dramatise?

The episode has at its core a disturbing medical issue, what is described as 'dementia' presenting itself as nymphomania in a mentally disturbed young woman, but Maigret gets to the bottom of a false confession, and the predictably lame efforts of a couple of locals to pin the murder on someone else. Patricia Hayes livens up one of the smaller parts, as a busybody neighbour.

The Judge's House is an odd episode. Director Terence Dudley starts off with some location filming. Lucas playing football with some kids outside the harbour in Normandy..

It ends with a choreographed fight scene that is meant to be muscular and bruising but is rather half hearted.

It is let down by a story that does not make much sense. With notions of Dementia Praecox that has aged.

Maigret is told by a busybody Didine Gulot (Patricia Hayes) that the local Judge near her house is harbouring a dead body. He plans to dispose of it at the harbour later in the night.

This piques Maigret's interest. The Judge has been protecting a young woman who along with her brother has inherited a form of dementia (schizophrenia?) from their mother.

The dead man turns out to be a psychiatrist. Just who killed him. The evidence points to the woman, the Judge is willing to take the blame. The brother is acting suspiciously.

Unfortunately this is a pedestrian adaptation.