Maigret's The White Hat with an introduction from Barry Forshaw

Madame Maigret really loved her husband. That is depicted in every episode in which she appears. ❤️

At home, Black and White TV is on, it’s BBC and 8 o’clock. The haunting theme starts with Rupert Davies is lighting his pipe. Settling in for another Maigret story. Very defiantly “The good old days”.

Rarely - if ever - has an entire 1960s BBC TV series been found and returned to the BBC archive. It's a miracle! Welcome back "Maigret!"

One of Simenon´s features that always draw my attention was that his characters were not only well developed as to their motivations and ambition, but that they were also very well inserted in the social context. The crime being only the bait used to draw the observer´s attention into the complex fabric of human destinies. A new Balzac!

"Perhaps you ought to consult yourself over your defense." That left a mark! 😆

An excellent sample episode of a much loved series. Barry Forshaw doesn't mention this here, but owing to time pressures Rupert Davies couldn't do the reading he would have normally done to play the character, so visited Simenon in France. Simenon is reported to have been impressed by the casting and right away said: "Maigret - c'est Maigret!"

Fabulous! I adore Rupert Davies in the role. I don’t know if I can bring myself to watch any other actors in the part, he is just SO perfect!

I liked the Bruno Cremer series (in French, I needed subtitles but it made a difference) because he was the only actor I've seen who expressed the physical size that was described in the books, and the way he could use that size occasionally to intimidate witnesses or criminals. He also mastered the phlegmatic, philosophical approach that was Maigret's habit, the still point in the storm.

I remember watching this series as a kid. It brings back so many memories. Also I think watching it now that I'm older the context in which I see it is so much better

Damned doctor didn’t even check for a pulse before pulling the sheet over the dying man.

I am only 62 but I remember watching Maigret during the 1960's as it had been picked up by the publicly owned TV network here in Australia. I loved it.

I remember with great affection watching on BBC TV this series with Rupert Davies, now knowing that once again I am able to view Maigret, just WONDERFUL.

Loved this! In 1962, Rupert Davies was 46. An inveterate pipe smoker, he died of cancer at only 60. In 1963, my French teacher told me he'd met Davies in a cross-Channel ferry bar. Both were well oiled (those crossings being incredibly tedious) and the actor was merrily reminiscing about his career. As for Simenon, much modern French writing is liberally sprinkled with modernisms and argot, so comprehensibility is strained. Simenon's works, by contrast, are a refreshingly easy read for any older reader proficient in 'standard' French.

What's missing from Forshaw's analysis here is just how flexible Maigret books are in terms of subject matter, subgenre, and character focus. Sometimes Maigret is an enigmatic calculating machine - at other times he's someone who rights wrongs and keeps people trapped in horrible circumstances from being destroyed. Some novels are whodunits complete with rich snobs in parlour rooms - others are gritty crime fiction. Maigret covers everything from innocuous disappearances to gory serial killings. I would say that was Simenon's genius. He didn't allow his character or his style to get stuck in a rut.

Thank you for this. Recovering from an accident, slept all day so up all night ! I've just found this; the iconic striking of the match on the wall I remember along with everyone else. Marvellous find - thank you so much for posting this, I can fill my wakeful night with delight.

takes me back some 50 years when all episodes where broadcasted on German TV (ARD). those were peaceful evenings when my father and I perfectly agreed: very well played!

I grew up with Maigret in the UK when I was a kid. Probably the sort of TV that mum and dad could let their little lad watch with them. I wonder what time it went out in the evening? Many years later the theme tune was going round my head and an inspector calls was born. Are you a detective? Remember you never read this🤫 Thanks for the introduction Barry, very enlightening 👍

I also watched these at the age of 10, probably not advisable, but in those day... I have recently purchased the entire set. LOVE THEM> I only had to wait 61 years. Thank you Network

Brilliant. I've spent years looking for these videos and did manage to buy a few dvd's last year, but this is great.

I LOVED Rupert Davis.. I loved George Simenon’s Maigret books. Thank you so much for this, so interesting.