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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/114def5a_7a55_4b45_9998_080d20342b14.jpeg]]
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3''The Murderer Lives at Number 21'' (in French ''L'Assassin habite au 21'') is a 1942 comedy thriller film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Pierre Fresnay. It was made in France during the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII German occupation]] and adapts the 1939 book of the same title by Stanislas-André Steeman.
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5A SerialKiller prowls in Paris. On the body of his numerous victims, he always leaves a [[CallingCard visiting card]] with the name of [[MrSmith M. Durand]]. The police are under pressure, but have no leads. A junk man finds in a cupboard a stock of the killer's visiting cards, so he guesses that the murderer lives in the boarding house where the cupboard comes from. So he tells Inspector Wens, who starts a covert investigation at Number 21, Junot Avenue.
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7!!''The Murderer Lives at Number 21'' provides examples of:
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9* ThirteenIsUnlucky: When he infiltrates the boarding house, Wens stays in room no. 13. He says that it does not matter, because he is not superstitious.
10* AlliterativeName: Mila Malou.
11* AloneWithThePsycho: In the end, Wens realizes who [[spoiler:the murderers are]], but [[spoiler:Prof. Lalah Poor]] threatens him with a gun and brings him to a construction site, where [[spoiler:the two other killers soon arrive]].
12* AppealToFlattery: In order to save time at the construction site, Wens asks [[spoiler:who initially had the idea of M. Durand, because he thinks only that one deserves to kill him. It appears that the three killers share the ownership of the idea, so they start arguing.]]
13* AtTheOperaTonight: Wens attends a performance of Prof. Lalah Poor. The outcome of the investigation happens during a show given by Mila Malou and the inhabitants of the boarding house.
14* CallingCard: The murderer always leaves a visiting card with the name of M. Durand on the body of his victims. {{Justified|Trope}}: [[spoiler:this is a trick used by the three murderers to make the police believe that there is just one killer instead of three]].
15* CantGetInTroubleForNuthin: When he is threatened by [[spoiler:Lalah Poor]], Wens spits on a policeman's shoes to be arrested, but the policeman drops the case because someone else calls for help.
16* CastingCouch: DiscussedTrope. Mila says "The casting couch is not my specialty!" when talking with the theater impresario. It's a dash of HypocriticalHumor, as earlier in the scene she was clearly coming onto him and getting nowhere.
17* TheCavalry: Wens is goind to be killed by [[spoiler:the murderers]] at the construction site, when the police and Mila Malou arrive to save him.
18* ChristianityIsCatholic: Averted, surprisingly. In France just about all Christianity ''is'' Catholic, but Wens still chooses to impersonate a Protestant minister when getting a room at No. 21. He specifically states that he has a wife and children elsewhere.
19* CloudCuckoolander: Many of them. Mila Malou is Wens's ManicPixieDreamGirl. Prof. Lalah Poor is a Hindu-style magician, with a lot of quirkiness: for example, he hides inside a box in his bedroom. Mlle Cuq is deluded into thinking that she is a talented writer. Armand, the valet, constantly imitates the cries of birds.
20* CutPhoneLines: Someone cuts the phone line of the boarding house to prevent Wens from calling the police.
21* DeadManWriting: Subverted. Wens leaves behind an "in the event of my death" letter telling his superiors that the killer lives at 21 Junot Avenue. But his nosy girlfriend Mila steams it open, reads the contents, and moves into the boarding house, where Wens is very much alive (and not happy to see her).
22* DelegationRelay: A series of phone calls starts at the top of the command structure and works its way down the various levels of the French police, with each underling in turn demanding that ''his'' underling catch the murderer in a time interval that gets shorter and shorter with each phone call. Finally the chain of phone calls gets to Wens's supervisor, who goes to call Wens, and finds a note from Wens on his desk promising to catch the killer.
23* DistressedDude: Wens is brought by [[spoiler:Lalah Poor]] to a construction site, where [[spoiler:the three murderers are going to kill him]]. Fortunately, Mila Malou brings the police there and saves him.
24* EverybodyDidIt: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. The mystery is of which of the inhabitants of the boarding house is the murder. TheReveal is that [[spoiler:three of them --Colin, Linz, and Lalah-Poor-- were in it together, taking turns committing murders]].
25* EvilGloating: [[spoiler:The three murderers lose]] a lot of time gloating at the construction site, which finally saves Wens's life.
26* FaceDeathWithDignity: Wens remains collected even when [[spoiler:three murderers are]] about to kill him.
27* FailedAuditionPlot: Mila Malou fails a singing audition in the beginning. The recruiter tells her that he cannot hire her because her name is not famous enough. He tells her that he would immediately recruit a serial killer like M. Durand because he is famous. So, Mila Malou decides to unmask M. Durand to become famous.
28* FairPlayWhodunnit: All the clues discovered by Wens are instantly produced to the viewer. There is no supernatural phenomenon or AppliedPhlebotinum.
29* TheFilmOfTheBook: The film is an adaptation of a 1939 book of the same title by Stanislas-André Steeman.
30* {{Foreshadowing}}: M. Durand's victims keep getting killed in differing ways--one stabbed with a SwordCane, one shot to death, one stabbed by a regular old knife; another is strangled offscreen. This is a clue that [[spoiler:there's more than one killer]].
31* GetIntoJailFree: Turlot insults a policeman because he wants to be arrested to be protected from M. Durand.
32* HandOfDeath: Seen in a couple of shots, like the opening sequence where a hand enters the frame wielding the SwordCane, or later in the film where a hand is seen reaching into the frame to cut the telephone line out of the boarding house.
33* IntroDump: Colin, Linz, Miss Cuq, and Lalah-Poor--all of the residents of the boarding house, that is, and suspects in the case--are all introduced to Wens and the audience in the scene where Wens, undercover as a pastor, arrives at the boarding house and asks for a room.
34* LovelyAssistant: Prof. Lalah Poor has one in his show.
35* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Wens is calm and serious. His job is to investigate murder cases. His girlfriend, Mila Malou, is a would-be singer with an exuberant personality. For example, she decides to start her own investigation of the M. Durand case. Later, she does not hesitate to follow Wens in his infiltration mission in the boarding house.
36* MrSmith: The pseudonym of the serial killer, M. Durand, is a French equivalent. "Durand" is a very common family name in French. In the book, which is set in London, the pseudonym used is Mr Smith.
37* OldMaid: Mlle. Cuq, the old lady at the boarding house, seems oddly proud of her elderly virgin status, calling herself a "maiden" more than once.
38* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: When Mila Malou is arrested, she rapidly says that she is Inspector Wens's girlfriend to stay out of trouble.
39* SerialKiller: A serial killer prowls in Paris. Unlike most serial killers, he seems to be killing for money and fun rather than some psycho-sexual compulsion, making this trope strangely blended with GentlemanThief. On the body of his numerous victims, he always leaves a visiting card with the name of M. Durand.
40* SettingUpdate: The plot of the original book was set in London. The action of the French film happens in Paris.
41* StageMagician: Prof. Lalah Poor is a Hindu-style stage magician.
42* StickyFingers: Prof. Lalah Poor often steals items from the pockets of the other characters and immediately gives them back, like the wallet of Wens or the handcuffs of the policemen.
43* SwordCane: [[spoiler:Dr Linz]] uses one.
44* TitleDrop: A petty criminal tells Wens "That's where the murderer lives, at number 21". He collected an old chest of draws that contained M. Durand's infamous {{Calling Card}}s.
45* WorkplaceAcquiredAbilities: Prof. Lalah Poor is a stage magician, so he has StickyFingers: he is able to steal items from the pockets of other people. That comes in handy when he has to [[spoiler:seize Wens's gun to prevent him from telling the police who the killers are]].
46* WritersSuck: Mlle Cuq is a would-be writer and is ridiculed. At some point, she even considers writing a detective novel with a plot very similar to ''The Murderer Lives at Number 21''.

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