It sure is a pleasure to meet police inspector Lavardin again. Mmm... his awfully bad manners ; yum yum... his unashamed arrogance ; yeeha... his devastating political incorrectness! All of which qualities (or defects depending on points of view) being embodied beyond perfection by Jean Poiret, now and forever inseparable from the character he has created under the approving gaze of Claude Chabrol. This time around, our beloved John Blunt is spending a holiday in an Italian spa town. Or so it seems. For can you actually picture our hedonistic friend swallowing glass after glass of salt-sulphated water? You can't and you are right! In fact, Lavardin is only posing as a patient. He is of course on duty and, seconded to Interpol, monitors the actions of Ruggero Anello (Franco Interlenghi), a millionaire who is suspected of being the leader of an arms network. Things get complicated with the unexpected murder of Claire Anello (Christiane Minazzoli), a famous crime novel writer and wife of Ruggero. From that moment Lavardin engages in a battle of wits between the millionaire, the candidate of a quiz game who might well be one of his accomplices (Riccardo Cucciolla) and Caroline (Amy Werba), Claire Anello's charming but secretive secretary. Fun is guaranteed but, to be honest, the viewer's pleasure would be complete only if Chabrol's direction was more than just serviceable. With "Maux croisés", we are far from the intensity of "La femme infidèle or "Le boucher", to name two of the director's masterpieces. For aside from a few camera moves, the director is content to record the scenes rather flatly. The other bad point is the Italian cast : to avoid subtitles, the Latin actors are forced to express themselves in French with a thick accent and they are not at ease with it. In these conditions, who could blame them? On the other hand the French-speaking Poiret, Albert Dray (as Dédé the barman) and Amy Werba (whose ambiguous charm works throughout) are excellent. And the witty dialogues bite home. Also noteworthy is the original use of Giuseppe's music and the satire of television quiz shows. All in all, if not a lesson in filming, "Maux Croisés" benefits from enough qualities to make you have a good time for an hour and a half. Which is not so bad after all.