The Man on the Eiffel Tower

The Man on the Eiffel Tower is a 1950 American Ansco Color film noir mystery film directed by Burgess Meredith and starring Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Meredith, and Robert Hutton. It is based on the 1931 novel La Tête d'un homme (A Man's Head) by Belgian writer Georges Simenon featuring his detective Jules Maigret. The film was co-produced by Tone and Irving Allen as A&T Film Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Much of the outdoor action occurs in various familiar Paris locales. The film is also known as L'homme de la tour Eiffel in France. Plot In the streets of Paris a myopic knife grinder Heurtin (Burgess Meredith) is berated by his partner for his lack of money. As she storms away, she bumps into Kirby (Robert Hutton), an unemployed playboy who is having an affair. As he enters a restaurant to meet his wife (Patricia Roc), Kirby is warned by the waiter that both wife and his mistress are waiting for him at the bar. The nature of the relationship becomes obvious to the wife, who leaves the pair, but not before teasing the mistress Edna (Jean Wallace) that Kirby will have no money until his aunt dies. Kirby reads a note that has been left at his feet, that his predicament has been overheard, and he can be helped for a million francs. He understands the note, signed by "MV", is an invitation to murder. As Edna leaves, in a moment prefiguring the novel The Dice Man, Kirby says he had a question and if he throws two aces with poker dice he'll say yes. All five come up aces.