Le Temps d'Anaïs. On the other hand, in the New York Times Anthony Boucher wrote of Simenon that he was "simply more wordy, more pretentious, and a good deal less effective. There is hardly a Maigret story that does not rank, whether as entertainment or as serious literature, well above Act of Passion." In the meantime, Act of Passion is one of Simenon's most prestigious novels. It was the Simenon novel that particularly impressed Henry Miller. John Banville spoke of a "dark and frightening book like all of Simenon's romans durs". François Bondy describes Simenon as at "the height of his powers" with his mastery of "intense concentration and simplification". Similarly, the journal of Austria's social democratic party Die Zukunft wrote: "It is amazing the amount of atmosphere Simenon can create with his concise style." Adaptations The film Le fruit défendu (English: Forbidden Fruit) was released in 1952 and directed by Henri Verneuil. Amongst others, the following actors appeared in the film: Fernandel, Sylvie, Françoise Arnoul, Claude Nollier, Jacques Castelot and Raymond Pellegrin. According to Lucille F. Becker, the film sticks very closely to the novel, making it one of the more successful Simenon adaptations. In the film, the moral ambiguity and fatal obsession of the novel become a simple love triangle in which Don Camillo, played by Fernandel, stands between duty and temptation. The happy ending with his return to his devoted wife, satisfies the moral expectations of the film audience. In 1985 the Bayerischer Rundfunk produced a radio play directed by Wolf Euba. The leading roles were taken by Peter Dirschauer, Else Quecke, Irene Clarin, Ilse Neubauer and Elisabeth Volkmann. Hans Peter Bögel read the novel for the Südwestrundfunk. Frank Focketyn played Charles Alavoine in the one-person play Brief aan meen Rechter'', directed by Johan Simons. The premiere took place on 13 November 2009 at the NTGent Theatre in Ghent. References 1947 Belgian novels Novels by Georges Simenon Belgian crime novels Presses de la Cité books