Georges Simenon, that phenomenally fast and astonishingly prolific writing machine, was the creator of Parisian police inspector Maigret. The character was adapted to stage, screen, TV and radio, starting with 1949's The Man in the Eiffel Tower, starring Charles Laughton as the Inspector. The French-made Inspector Maigret (58) offers one of the best-ever Maigrets in the form of veteran tough guy Jean Gabin, who played the character several times throughout the 1950s. In this top-rank entry, the Inspector is called upon to track down an elusive Parisian "Jack the Ripper." Maigret's home life, so much a part of the original Simenon novels, was eschewed in favor of straight, no-frills detection. Inspector Maigret was released in the U.S. as Woman-Bait.