In this, the second of the three Maigret films made by the German-run Continental Films during the Occupation, popular film star Albert Préjean reprises his role as the famed pipe-smoking detective, accompanied by his improbable side-kick Lucas. Although, again, the film fails to capture the atmosphere of the Georges Simenon novel on which it is based, it does offer a reasonably satisfactory alternative – a suspenseful and witty black comedy.