Back from Indochina, Tony and Dick, two French soldiers, are now in possession of more than 20 million, entrusted by a trafficker. They buy a nightclub in the district of Montparnasse but are soon hunted by the thug who wants to recover his money.
A Slug in the Heater, Eine Kugel im Lauf
France
France
Very efficient polar with methodical inevitable trap and great feel for seedy world and desperate characters. Directed by a young Michel Deville.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. I suspect time has been kind to it.
It isn’t the greatest movie but it has a lot of style. Nice soundtrack well shot fun. It’s all done with some esteem.
Also Hazel Scott!
Probably due for reappraisal canonically
Slightly B French noir about two soldiers who return from Saigon and somehow accidentally buy a nightclub with 25 million francs belonging to a big time gangster. He's given them three days to get it back, and with that you have a tightly plotted, super cool, super stylish noir with a background of Paris by night and a great jazzy soundtrack. This one took me completely by surprise, it's terrific. Look out for Brigitte Bardot's younger sister Mijanou, Jean Rochefort as a long-faced bartender, and a bit part from a very young, pre-Drax Michael Lonsdale. What a cool dude he was.
This French crime drama has an idea, that of two ex-soldiers who bought a nightclub, but are in debt to a crime boss for quite a bit and need to get it to him fast, or else. There's somewhere to go with that, it seems. But this movie doesn't really take it all that far. Not that it doesn't go anywhere, but it could have made this a lot more harrowing and dramatic and tension-filled. It's really none of that. It's actually kind of walk-in-the-park in its pacing and attitude. And the characters don't seem to really think things through in a few cases, which makes one wonder why. They don't seem stupid. But ok. It's all kind of disjointed,…
"Our meeting is at nine. It is now exactly nine." So opens this film about two aspiring young Frenchmen who owe a huge debt to a deadly gangster, the fact their nightclub is hemorrhaging money doesn't help things, and to make matters worse, one of their friends turns up dead. But this pair is no pushover, they're plenty tough, in fact, they are Indochina veterans. This black and white picture has some slick camera work and some smart, tough dialogue. It's a decent story that keeps you watching. It was fun to see Michel Lonsdale in a small role. Recommended.
French neo-noir about a pair of American soldiers who go to Paris to buy a nightclub and have to deal with the mafia. Starts off really strong with lots of style, but both style and plot start to fizzle after the first act. Becomes something more of a classic exploitation film about the dangers of dealing with the underworld, minus the exploitation. Has some good moments and an appropriately downer ending.
“For the tip it seems they pay in gentle caresses.” 6.
Having another title waiting to be viewed,I quickly looked in my mountain of French films waiting to be seen for one I could plug in and play. Finding his Lucky Jo (1964-also reviewed) to be an excellent Film Noir,I got set to see Michel Deville unload the barrel.
View on the film:
Making his film making debut without the involvement of future editor/co-writing collaborator Nina Companeez, directing auteur Michel Deville offers tantalising glimpses to his future recurring motifs when co-writing/co-directing here with Charles Gerard, as jolts of Deville’s abrupt smash and match-cuts are layered over Dick and Tony’s money handling deeds. Whilst not blending seamlessly together, the set-pieces likely…
