"A gourmet isn't a gourmet because he likes to order."

morrison-dylan-fan

Watching the credits fade on the enjoyably wacky 1970 Crime film The Heist,I started to believe that I had seen the last movie to feature actor Robert Hossein. Taking a look at some French DVDs that I picked up years ago (!) I was delighted to discover that I had Hossein's directing debut,which led to me getting ready to go to hell.

The plot:

Caught with a noose around the neck over one of them being suspected of giving details to the wardens about his fellow prisoners, Macquart and Rudel decide to break out.Punching the face in of anyone in their way, Macquart and Rudel, grab a prison car and drive off. Hoping to get miles away,the guys are instead hit with the car breaking down outside a beach house.Entering the house,the duo take out artist Georges Bagot. Grieving silently,Bagot's girlfriend Ava starts making plans of putting the guys in a prison of death.

View on the film:

Steeping in the cell and behind the camera for the first time,co- writer/(along with René Wheeler) director Robert Hossein (who gives a good gruff performance as fellow lag Fred) & cinematographer Michel Kelber cake the prison in a rancid Film Noir atmosphere. Setting off the rising damp,Hossein and Kelber smear the walls with mud,dirt and grime which ruggedly complements the jailbreak mind set of the duo. Cracking open the sun on Pierre Macquart and Rudel,Hossein keeps the claustrophobia of the prison raining down on them,as razor sharp edits from Charles Bretoneiche snaps the tension between the guys over Femme Fatale Eva,whilst Robert's dad André's exciting score gives the long Film Noir shadows cast over his sons mythical landscape shots an atmosphere of impending doom,and the poetic feeling of Macquart and Rudel slowly sinking into a new prison.

Unlocking Frédéric Dard's stage play,the screenplay by Hossein and Wheeler crush the stage roots into dust,as the writers swoop down on a Film Noir bear pit raging with dodgy wardens and nose to the grime stone prisoners,where reports of backstabbing are reported from the hammering of walls. Escaping jail,the writers brilliantly continue to pound the Film Noir walls of the prison,as Rudel and Macquart's already fragile relationship gets burnt at the edges,and the alluring sight of Ava leads to the guys dragging each other to hell.

Looking like a mirage on the beach,the stunning Marina Vlady, (who along with appearing in some suggestive clothes,was also 17 at the time!) gives an extraordinary performance as Ava. Limited to just a handful of lines,Vlady's dazzlingly expressive face and delicate body language reveal the Femme Fatale flame who will make the guys burn. Going on the run together, Henri Vidal and Serge Reggiani each give amazing performances as Macquart and Rudel,with both of them stabbing deep into Rudel and Macquart's decayed Film Noir weaknesses,as Ava looks across the beach,and sees the wicked go to hell.

score 10/10

morrison-dylan-fan 16 August 2016

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3526745/