Enigmatic gangster Silien may or may not be responsible for informing on Faugel, who was just released from prison and is already involved in what should be a simple heist. By the end of this brutal, twisting, and multilayered policier, who will be left to trust?
Direction
Melville's geometric precision—every shadow tells a lie.
Acting
Belmondo and Reggiani eye-fight for 108 minutes.
Cinematography
Black-and-white so crisp it cuts.
Director
Jean-Pierre Melville
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Silien
Serge Reggiani
Maurice Faugel
Jean Desailly
Superintendant Clain
René Lefèvre
Gilbert Varnove
Marcel Cuvelier
Police inspector
Philippe March
Jean
Fabienne Dali
Fabienne
Monique Hennessy
Thérèse
Carl Studer
Kern
Christian Lude
Doctor
Jacques Léonard
Police inspector
Philippe Nahon
Remy
Charles Bayard
Old Man
Paulette Breil
Anita
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Melville famously refused to confirm whether Silien was guilty, insisting the ambiguity was the point.
This film essentially invented the 'French noir' aesthetic that Tarantino and others would later worship.
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