In this classic form of a suspense-mystery you are presented pieces of a jigsaw puzzle one at a time, in a straight-forward manner. But with each piece, you must rearrange the others in order to get the new one to fit. There is a romantic comedy thrown in for good measure, which is done quite well, in the tradition of the great ones from the 40s. One can easily imagine Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in this movie. While this element is secondary to the mystery, it helps with the pacing and adds a bit of comic relief; again, in the classic Hitchcock tradition.Finally, there is the seedy element as nod to the Noir genre. I assume this is the reason it was filmed in B&W. A bit too "artsy" for my taste (for a 1984 film), but it works.

...and Truffaut's homage to one of his idols, Alfred Hitchcock. Made in 1983, this is the last film directed by Francois Truffaut before he passed away in 1984 at the age of 52. The movie stars Truffaut's companion at the time of his death, Fanny Ardant. It is no wonder that Truffaut fell for her. A tall, statuesque beauty, Ardant was one of the most beautiful women in the world when this film was made. Here she shows she is not just a beautiful face. She has great fun as Barbara, the secretary in a small, Parisian real estate concern owned by Julian Vercel (Jean-Louis Trintignant.) The pair become embroiled in a series of unsolved murders after Julian is linked to the murder of his wife's lover. As the evidence points more to the guilt of Julian, it falls to the intrepid Barbara to play detective. As the bodies begin to fall, Barbara schemes, cajoles and otherwise works her way deeper into the past of Julian's wife and a series of unsavory characters, including a ticket-taker at a local cinema. In several of the funniest scenes, Truffaut has fun with Ardant's incredible beauty. At one point Barbara must impersonate a street-walker. She is informed that she will be at a distinct disadvantage because of her brunette hair. When interviewing a young woman to replace her as secretary after Julian has fired her, the young woman informs Barbara that maybe she would have more luck with men if she was a blonde.....There are several nods to Hitchcock in this film: from REAR WINDOW there are the scenes where Julian is forced to hide in his office, a rear window providing his only view of the outside world. From NORTH BY NORTHWEST there is an innocent man pursued for crimes he didn't commit, all the while assisted by a beautiful woman. Definitely worth watching......