Although I had originally intended to tape something else entirely off the TV i.e. the nunspoitation flick, LA BADESSA DI CASTRO (1974), this latter-day French thriller served as a welcome tribute to the passing of its amiable leading man Philippe Noiret. He plays a seemingly passive Police Inspector who finds himself investigating (with his much more fastidious partner Guy Marchand in tow) a series of baffling murders in a quiet seaside town. The distinguished cast - Stefania Sandrelli, Laura Betti, Andrea Ferreol, Suzanne Flon - ensures that there is never a lack of possible suspects and red herrings, although it is the frequently naked younger generation of starlets - particularly Elisabeth Bourgine, Anne Roussel and Marie Trintignant - who leave the greater impression. The eventual culprits are a genuine surprise and their tragic fate prefigures THELMA AND LOUISE (1991) by several years.
Review of Noyade interdite
