Maigret is a 1988 television film starring Richard Harris as Georges Simenon's detective, Jules Maigret.[4] The film was intended as a pilot for a potential television series.[2]
Production
[edit]While unhappily working on Archer, a television series adaptation of Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer stories, writer Arthur Weingarten began thinking about doing a mystery series with a different concept.[2]
The studio was uninterested but Weingarten decided to pursue the rights to the character himself.[2] Friendship with Graham Greene got Weingarten an introduction to Georges Simenon.[1] Weingarten locked down American rights but spent five years gathering rights in other countries to attain worldwide rights to the character.[2] He then approached every American network about creating a Maigret series with no success until CBS agreed with the stipulation that he cast an international star.[2] Richard Burton was the first approached and he was keen but two weeks before filming was to commence he dropped out to do Private Lives on Broadway.[2] Alec Guinness was next approached but he declined.[2] Weingarten spent a year negotiating with George C. Scott, but Scott eventually pulled out and with him went CBS.[2]
At this stage, Columbia Pictures Television agreed but Weingarten still needed a Maigret. After viewing A Man Called Horse one evening, he decided to approach Richard Harris.[2] Although Harris didn't physically fit the role, he was up for the challenge as a fan of the character.[2]
The project got additional funding from HTV and Coca-Cola[1] which brought the budget up to $3 million (US).[1] Filming was shot on location in Paris and West Country.[1] The script was drawn from a number of Simenon's original novels and the setting was moved up to the then-modern 1980s.[1]
Cast
[edit]- Richard Harris - Jules Maigret
- Patrick O'Neal - Kevin Portman
- Victoria Tennant - Victoria Portman
- Ian Ogilvy - Daniel Portman
- Barbara Shelley - Louise Maigret
- Andrew McCulloch - Sgt. Lucas
- Caroline Munro - Carolyn Page
Release
[edit]The film was unsuccessful critically[1][5] which ended any possibility of it spawning a television series. Three years later, fellow Irishman Michael Gambon stepped into the role for another ITV production entitled Maigret which ran for twelve episodes.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Haining, Peter (1994). The Complete Maigret. Pan Macmillan. pp. 85–91. ISBN 978-1852834470.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hampton, Wilborn (22 February 1988). "A Much-Tangled Story: Getting Maigret on TV". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ Hardy, Phil (1997). The BFI Companion to Crime. University of California Press. p. 216. ISBN 9780520215382.
- ^ Haining, Peter (5 March 2015). "The Great Detectives: Maigret". The Strand Magazine. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ a b Kehoe, Paddy (20 July 2015). "Georges Simenon Inspector Maigret". RTÉ. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ "DVD extra: Michael Gambon's 'Maigret' out this week". USA Today. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
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