After an early initiation in documentary, Grémillon produced his first fiction feature in 1928, and for the following two decades was one of the most formidable French filmmakers working, best remembered for the expressionistically shot poetic realist melodramas he produced immediately before and during the German Occupation. This duet of restored Grémillon films, 1937’s Lady Killer and 1938’s The Strange Mister Victor, are a gateway to the director’s peak period, and an ideal introduction to a fervid and lyrical cinematic imagination.