Maigret (1960 TV series)

Maigret is a British television series made by the BBC and which – following a pilot episode broadcast in 1959 – ran for 51 episodes from 1960 to 1963. [1]

Maigret
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Georges Simenon
Written by	Giles Cooper (19 episodes) and 9 others
Starring	Rupert Davies Ewen Solon Neville Jason Helen Shingler
Theme music composer	Ron Grainer
Opening theme	The Maigret Theme
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	51,[1] (plus a pilot episode in 1959)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andrew Osborn
Running time	50 minutes [1]
Production company(s)	BBC
Release
Original network	BBC TV
Picture format	1.33 : 1 Black & white
First shown in	1960
Original release	1960 – 1963

Based on the Maigret stories of Georges Simenon, the series starred Rupert Davies in the title role.

Cast

The series starred Rupert Davies as the Police Judiciaire detective Commissaire Jules Maigret, who took up the role in 1960 after Basil Sydney, who had played Maigret in the pilot episode, was unable to continue. [1]

The main cast were:-

• Ewen Solon as Lucas [1]
• Neville Jason as Lapointe [1]
• Victor Lucas as Torrence
• Helen Shingler as Madame Maigret [1]

Episodes included such well-known faces as Stratford Johns, Leon Cortez, Terence Alexander, Roger Delgado, William Franklyn, Michael Goodliffe, and Barry Foster, among others.[2]

Although staying largely true to the storyline of the books, the series featured only three of Maigret's team of detectives (the "faithful four",[3] omitting any casting for Janvier.

Rupert Davies

The choice of Davies to play Maigret was enthusiastically approved by Simenon himself. Remembering the role in a 1964 interview Davies said "When Andrew Osborn, the producer of the show, offered me the part on Good Friday in 1960, I knew very little about Maigret. I knew he was a famous French fictional detective, but that was all." Rather than read the books to get the feel for the character, Davies thought it would be better to meet Maigret's creator and hear from him how he saw the character. The BBC agreed and a meeting was arranged between Davies and Simenon in Lausanne.[4]

"The moment Simenon saw me he shouted: "C'est Maigret, c'est Maigret. You are the flesh and bones of Maigret!" Davies later remembered. "That was a wonderful beginning. Then he drove us to his lovely château in the village of Échandens, where I met his wife. Later he began to coach me in Maigret's idiosyncrasies."[4]

Simenon himself said of Davies "At last, I have found the perfect Maigret!"[5]

Production

The series was written by a set of ten writers, each contributing individual episodes; the most prolific being Giles Cooper, credited with nineteen episodes, and Roger East, with twelve.[2]

Directing was similarly shared by sixteen directors, with Gerard Glaister and Terence Williams responsible for eight each, Andrew Osborn seven, and Eric Tayler six.[2] Each episode was shot in black-and-white and lasted 50 minutes, and (as it was made for the BBC) was intended to be screened without commercial breaks. It was shot mainly in studio, though many of the exteriors were filmed on location in Paris.

Theme music and various incidental music was composed by Ron Grainer[6] for which he won an Ivor Novello award.[6] Apart from the pilot, all 52 episodes remain within the BBC's archives.[7]

Episodes

(with dates of first broadcast on BBC TV)

Pilot episode
Title	First shown	Based on	Notes[8]
Maigret and the Lost Life	12 April 1959	Inspector Maigret and the Dead Girl Maigret et la Jeune Morte	1954 novel: Starring Basil Sydney as Maigret
Series 1
Title	First shown	Based on	Notes[9]
Murder in Montmartre	31 October 1960	Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper Maigret au « Picratt's »	1951 novel: Rupert Davies takes over as Maigret
Unscheduled Departure	7 November 1960	Maigret Has Scruples Les Scrupules de Maigret	1958 novel
The Burglar's Wife	14 November 1960	Maigret and the Burglar's Wife Maigret et le Grand Perche	1951 novel
The Revolver	21 November 1960	Maigret's Revolver Le Revolver de Maigret	1952 novel
The Old Lady	28 November 1960	Maigret and the Old Lady Maigret et la Vieille Dame	1950 novel
Liberty Bar	5 December 1960	Liberty Bar Liberty Bar	1932 novel
A Man of Quality	12 December 1960	The Death of Monsieur Gallet Monsieur Gallet, décédé	1931 novel
My Friend the Inspector	19 December 1960	My Friend Maigret Mon ami Maigret	1949 novel
The Mistake	26 December 1960	Maigret's Mistake Maigret se trompe	1953 novel
On Holiday	2 January 1961	A Summer Holiday Les Vacances de Maigret	1948 novel
The Experts	9 January 1961	Inspector Maigret and the Killers Maigret, Lognon, et les Gangsters	1952 novel
The Cactus	16 January 1961	Maigret Takes a Room Maigret en meublé	1951 novel
The Children's Party	23 January 1961	The Crime of Inspector Maigret Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien	1931 novel
Series 2
Title	First shown	Based on	Notes[9]
Shadow Play	23 October 1961	The Shadow in the Courtyard L'Ombre chinoise	1932 novel
The Simple Case	30 October 1961	Maigret and the Headless Corpse Maigret et le Corps sans tête	1955 novel
Death of a Butcher	6 November 1961	Maigret's Failure Un échec de Maigret	1956 novel
The Winning Ticket	13 November 1961	Maigret's Dead Man Maigret et son mort	1948 novel
Inspector Lognon's Triumph	20 November 1961	Maigret and the Surly Inspector Maigret et l'Inspecteur malgracieux	1946 short story
The Lost Sailor	27 November 1961	Death of a Harbour Master Le Port des brumes	1932 novel
The Golden Fleece	4 December 1961	The Lock at Charenton L'Écluse N^o 1	1933 novel
Raise Your Right Hand	11 December 1961	Maigret in Court Maigret aux assises	1960 novel
The Liars	18 December 1961	Maigret Goes to School Maigret à l'école	1954 novel
A Crime for Christmas	25 December 1961	Maigret's Christmas Un Noël de Maigret	1950 short story
The Reluctant Witnesses	1 January 1962	Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses Maigret et le Témoins récalcitrants	1959 novel
The White Hat	8 January 1962	Madame Maigret's Own Case L'Amie de madame Maigret	1950 novel
Murder on Monday	15 January 1962	Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard Maigret et l'Homme du banc	1953 novel
Series 3
Title	First shown	Based on	Notes[9]
Voices from the Past	24 September 1962	Maigret in Society Maigret et les Vieillards	1960 novel
The Madman of Vervac	1 October 1962	The Madman of Bergerac Le Fou de Bergerac	1932 novel
The Countess	8 October 1962	Maigret and the Countess L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre	1932 novel
The Wedding Guest	15 October 1962	Guinguette by the Seine Guingette à deux sous	1931 novel
High Politics	22 October 1962	Maigret and the Minister Maigret chez le ministre	1954 novel
Love from Felicie	29 October 1962	Maigret and the Toy Village Félicie est là	1944 novel
The Dirty House	5 November 1962	Maigret in Retirement Maigret se fâche	1947 novel
The Crystal Ball	12 November 1962	To Any Lengths Signé Picpus	1944 novel
The Crooked Castle	19 November 1962	Maigret at the Crossroads La Nuit du carrefour	1931 novel
Death in Mind	26 November 1962	A Battle of Nerves La Tête d'un homme	1931 novel
Seven Little Crosses	3 December 1962	—	Original teleplay
The Trap	10 December 1962	Maigret Sets a Trap Maigret tend un piège	1955 novel
The Amateurs	17 December 1962	Maigret and the Lazy Burglar Maigret et le Voleur paresseux	1961 novel
Series 4
Title	First shown	Based on	Notes[9]
Poor Cecile!	1 October 1963	Maigret and the Spinster Cécile est morte	1940 novel
The Fontonay Murders	8 October 1963	Maigret Afraid Maigret a peur	1953 novel
The Lost Life	15 October 1963	Maigret and the Dead Girl Maigret et la Jeune Morte	1954 novel: (remake of 1959 pilot)
The Cellars of the Majestic	22 October 1963	Maigret and the Hotel Majestic Les Caves du Majestic	1939 novel
A Man Condemned	29 October 1963	Maigret has Doubts Une confidence de Maigret	1959 novel
The Flemish Shop	5 November 1963	The Flemish Shop Chez les Flamands	1932 novel
A Taste of Power	12 November 1963	Maigret's First Case La Première Enquête de Maigret, 1913	1949 novel
The Log of the Cap Fagnet	19 November 1963	The Sailors' Rendezvous Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas	1931 novel
The Judge's House	26 November 1963	Maigret in Exile La Maison du juge	1940 novel
Another World	3 December 1963	Maigret and the Millionaires Maigret voyage	1957 novel
The Crime at Lock 14	10 December 1963	The Crime at Lock 14 Le Charretier de la Providence	1931 novel
Peter the Lett	17 December 1963	The Strange Case of Peter the Lett Pietr-le-Letton	1931 novel
Maigret's Little Joke	24 December 1963	Maigret's Little Joke Maigret s'amuse	1957 novel

References

1. Pitts 2004.
2. Maigret: full cast and crew at IMDb; retrieved 17 May 2016
3. Maigret's faithful four at trussel.com; retrieved 17 May 2016
4. Maigret (1960) on Television Heaven
5. Winn 2009.
6. "Ron Grainer". BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
7. "Maigret at lostshows.com".
8. Basil Sydney at trussel.com; retrieved 15 May 2016
9. Rupert Davies at trussel.com; retrieved 15 May 2016

Sources

• Pitts, Michael R (2004). Famous Movie Detectives III. Scarecrow. p. 89. ISBN 978-0810836907.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Winn, Christopher (2009). I Never Knew That About Wales. Random House. p. 39. ISBN 978-1407028231.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Maigret (1960–1963) on IMDb
• Maigret on Whirligig
• Maigret fansite
• Maigret on Television Heaven
• Georges Simenon novels (French Wikipedia)