Landru is able to cover up the manslaughter, but when he is able to easily claim Vivienne's furniture as his own and sell it he realises he has found an easy way to make money.

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Period, background and mood all fluctuate maddeningly ... and the unedifying narrative is developed along the most obvious lines imaginable.

Landry's passion for Odette, especially as expressed by a weary George Sanders and an over-excited Corinne Calvet, seems a fantastic motive for the crimes themselves; and the somewhat nostalgic roster of victims (Patricia Roc, Jean Kent, Greta Gynt, etc.)

"[4] Variety wrote: "This is a dull, preposterous yarn, allegedly based on the notorious career of Henri Landru, the French mass-killer.

Not even the marquee value of George Sanders and Corinne Calvel can hide the fact that by all standards this one is a turkey,"[5] Leslie Halliwell said: "Another version of the story of Landru, alternating wildly between fantasy, farce and melodrama.