spotlight on a murderer

Director Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face (1960) might be one of the most iconic and imitated horror films you've never heard of. His follow-up, Spotlight on a Murderer (1961) seems less influential on the surface; but this quirky murder / mystery winds up right in the thick of a gothic renaissance that spread through Italy and Germany, leading up to the more explicit gialli cycle of black-gloved killers. Here we have a much more typical, but playfully clever, whodunit built around a cast of familial suspects bickering over a delayed inheritance.

Upon his death, Count Herve de Keraudren crawls inside a secret room in his sprawling castle, thereby depriving his heirs of an official corpse and delaying the transfer of his assets five years. Gathered together in frustration, the surviving family members come up with a plan to pay for the immense costs of running the estate while they wait: put on a show built around the legend of a doomed love triangle that occurred right on the castle grounds.

Equipment is installed, lights are set and a modern sound system is brought in to guide potential tourists from one room to the next. But a series of accidents and arguments break out amongst the group, leaving one dead body after another...and one less heir to the fortune each time. By the time the show is ready to start, the few survivors left must stage a performance of their own to determine exactly which of them is the guilty party.

First and foremost, Spotlight on a Murderer makes excellent use of its location, an authentic castle in the French region of Brittany, full of elegant interiors, imposing turrets and even a moat. Franju makes the most of every inch of it, particularly during the evening of the big performance as he leads the audience through a "theater of the mind" experience created by sound effects and spotlights. The plot itself is pretty standard Agatha Christie fare, alternately dropping hints and misleading viewers until the big reveal. But there's something unusual about Franju's approach to the material, a tongue-in-cheek subtlety that keeps you guessing about his real intentions.

In the end, the film hits all the expected notes. But it's played beautifully. The Gothic trend was picked up by a host of other European filmmakers, but rarely with this much panache (outside of director Mario Bava) and usually in a supernatural circumstances. Here Franju delivers a modern-day, crowd pleasing cinematic confection that still retains his atmospheric personal twist.

Arrow Video's blu-ray presentation is a real B & W beauty with a great score from Maurice Jarre. Extras include a fascinating 30-minute documentary shot at the time the film was released, interviewing the actors and directors at the aforementioned castle location. A trailer and extensive liner notes are also included.