About the film
About the painting
“L’Assassin habite au 21” (The Murderer lives at number 21) was Clouzot’s debut feature film. The film is about detective Wens (Pierre Fresnay) goes on the prowl for the murderer Monsieur Durand, who leaves calling cards and manages to be everywhere at once. With the aspiring actress Mila Malou (Suzy Delair), Wens follows clues to a seedy boarding house where hoping to find the murderer. The Murderer Lives at Number 21 was the fourth film written by Clouzot for the Nazi run film company Continental Films who made films to take the place of banned American films. Clouzot made several changes from the script including the characters Mila and Wens from his previous screenplay for ‘Le dernier des six’ (1941). The film was released in France to critical acclaim.