Betrayed by an informant, Philippe Gerbier finds himself trapped in a torturous Nazi prison camp. Although he escapes to rejoin the Resistance in occupied Marseille and exacts his revenge on the informant, Philippe must continue a quiet, seemingly endless battle against the Nazis.Read More »
A murky, downbeat spy thriller written by José Giovanni and starring Lino Ventura. A French spy in Vienna is suspected of being a double agent, and a colleague of his is sent over to investigate. When the former man is kidnapped by the Russians, his complex network of contacts has to be unravelled in order to trace an important microfilm. The two final ironic twists sort of cancel each other out, but a British director and Michael Caine could have done wonders with this script. Deray’s dry, anonymous matter-of-factness would be more suited to the parable of Un papillon sur l’épaule that he made with Ventura about a decade later.Read More »
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Jacques Cournot, a freelance skipper, is hired by Mr Hendrix in Santo Domingo, first of all to advise him regarding the acquisition of a sailing boat. After a thorough inspection of a prospective vessel, the “Dragoon”, Cournot reports his positive appraisal to Mr Hendrix and initiates the negotiations with Mrs Osborne, the owner of the craft. Barely a couple of days later, Cournot finds himself in a bind as the police questions him about the exact kind of cruise he was supposed to organize for his principal. For the “Dragoon” is gone; Mr Hendrix has disappeared; Mrs Osborne is not aware of any deal; and the corpses of mysterious individuals, victims of a violent death, are found on the beaches of Santo Domingo.Read More »
La ragazza in vetrina was supposed to be a turning point in Emmer’s cinema but it went on to become a cursed film. In accordance with the evolution of Italian cinema, the director chose a story by Rodolfo Sonego which combines a tough theme, Italian migrants working in Dutch and Belgian mines (the tragedy in Marcinelle, near Charleroi, which left 262 dead, half of which were Italian, took place only four years earlier), with a raunchy one, about the red light district in Amsterdam. It combines his love of wandering and the sketch with a harsh new gaze, bolstered by the black-and-white cinematography of Otello Martelli, fresh from La dolce vita. The first half-hour of the film depicts the difficult lives of the miners; then it concentrates on two characters, one timid, the other self-confident, but both lonely and unhappy, as they meet two prostitutes. Read More »
Three criminals escape from a French prison and hide in a coastal village where they have to wait for 12 hours until the boat that is supposed to take them to freedom arrives.Read More »
International superstars Alain Delon (Le Samouraï), Jean Gabin (Touchez Pas au Grisbi) and Lino Ventura (Le Deuxième Souffle) star in this action-packed thriller that delivers white-knuckle suspense from its exciting opening chase to its thrilling conclusion. Aging Sicilian mobster Vittorio Manalese (Gabin) springs master thief and hit man Roger Sartet (Delon) from prison so he can help him pull off the most ambitious heist of his illustrious career, which includes hijacking a New York–bound plane and transporting 50 million dollars in jewels. But after the audacious crime, Sartet betrays the crime boss and the two partners in crime become engaged in a tense game of cat-and-mouse and a no-holds-barred battle of wit and bravado.Read More »
Realising that times have changed, five unscrupulous crooks decide it is time for a reappraisal of their line of business. Prostitutes are demanding the right to strike, workers now dismiss their bosses rather than the other way round, and the world is being refashioned by political and social revolutions. For Lino, Jacques, Simon, Charlot and Aldo, the days of robbing banks are a thing of the past. Now they decide to make an active participation in this brave new world, by hijacking aeroplanes and kidnapping high-profile public figures, starting with the rock singer Johnny Halliday. It proves to be a very lucrative enterprise, until one of their victims turns the tables on them…Read More »
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As a result of a serious professional blunder, Inspector Leonetti finds himself transferred to a minor police department. There, he is assigned to a difficult case involving a certain Roger Martin, who has disappeared with his small daughter. Martin is in fact a key witness in a murder case and is required to give evidence against a well-known gangster. To help him in his hunt for Martin, Leonetti is teamed up with Jeanne, a young policewoman with next to no experience. By frequently changing his address Martin hopes not only to evade Leonetti and Jeanne, but also the band of gangsters who are determined to prevent him from testifying…
— James TraversRead More »
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Two adventurers and best friends, Roland and Manu, are the victims of a practical joke that costs Manu his pilot’s license. With seeming contrition, the jokesters tell Roland and Manu about a crashed plane lying on the ocean floor off the coast of Congo stuffed with riches. The adventurers set off to find the loot.Read More »