French film photo galley for Crime/Thriller

French films Crime/Thriller

Razzia sur la Chnouf (1955)

Jean Becker’s 1953 film Touchez pas au grisbi allowed actor Jean Gabin to re-invent his screen persona, becoming the tough patriarchal figure that would predominate in his post-WWII film career. In Razzia sur la Chnouf, Gabin appears to reprise the role he played in Grisbi , playing opposite Lino Ventura who also starred in that earlier film... [More...]

Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

One of the few films of the film noir genre which can genuinely be described as a masterpiece, Du rififi chez les hommes occupies a pivotal position in French cinema history. It was the first truly successful attempt to import the American film noir genre into French cinema and it provided the template for numerous other films... [More...]

Ces dames préfèrent le mambo (1957)

Eddie Constantine stars in this somewhat lacklustre pastiche of film noir and American-style action/adventure, a formula that was hugely popular in France in the 1950s. Having played the redoubtable FBI agent Lemmy Caution in a dozen or so similar films, Eddie Constantine became one of the biggest stars in French cinema... [More...]

Jusqu'au dernier (1957)

The 1950s was when French film noir was in its heyday. The genre was both remarkably popular in France and occupied a dominant place in French cinema of this decade. Jusqu’au dernier is one film which epitomises the best and the worst of the French film noir, an almost slavish pastiche of the American gangster film... [More...]

L'Homme à l'imperméable (1957)

In this liberal adaptation of a James Hadley Chase novel, director Julien Duvivier and screenwriter René Barjavel sought to emulate the style of the American and British comedy thrillers, which were then very popular in France. The film’s comic element relies almost entirely on its star, the incomparable Fernandel... [More...]

Le Rouge est mis (1957)

Jean Gabin and Lino Ventura are reunited for the fourth time in as many years in this standard 1950s French thriller. The film was based on a novel by the popular série noir writer Auguste Le Breton, whose works were frequently adapated for French cinema. The characters, the scenario and the dialogue is all familiar stuff... [More...]

Quand la femme s'en mêle (1957)

This fairly standard crime thriller Yves Allégret has an exceptional cast, including Edwige Feuillère and Jean Servais. A young Alain Delon distinguishes himself in his first film role, playing the kind of character he would become most associated with in the following few decades.... [More...]

Retour de manivelle (1957)

Denys de La Patellière directed this respectable example of the suspense thriller, an adaptation of a James Hadley Chase novel which skilfully blends the style of American film noir with that of the conventional, character-driven French thriller. The film stars Michèle Morgan and Daniel Gélin, each of whom turns in a compelling... [More...]

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)

For his remarkable cinematic debut, director Louis Malle brought a fresh and original approach to the film policier, the most popular genre in French cinema of the 1950s. Although it adheres rigorously to the conventions of the crime thriller of that decade, Ascenseur pour l’échafaud offers a stylish variation on a familiar theme... [More...]

Maigret tend un piège (1958)

Jean Gabin stars in one of his most famous roles, that of Inspector Maigret, in this atmospheric 1950s policier directed by one of France’s most talented directors, Jean Delannoy. Of all the screen actors to have played Maigret, Gabin is by far the best, and in this film (the first of his three film appearances in the role) he brilliantly portrays the ruthless cunning and world weariness... [More...]

125 rue Montmartre (1959)

Lino Ventura gives one of his legendary tour de force performances in this intricate mystery-thriller, a compelling film which appears to have been influenced by both American film noir and the work of Alfred Hitchcock. This is one of the better films to be directed by Gilles Grangier, who is perhaps best known for his light-hearted comedies... [More...]

À double tour (1959)

Claude Chabrol’s third film shows a marked departure from his two earlier films, Le Beau Serge and Les Cousins. For one thing, it is his first film to be made in colour, but, more significantly, it is his first attempt at a psychological thriller. Whilst not as polished as Chabrol’s later works in this genre... [More...]

Des femmes disparaissent (1959)

It’s hard to believe but Edouard Molinaro, the director of such classic comedies as La Cage aux folles (1978), Hibernatus (1969) and L’Emmerdeur (1973) first cut his teeth as a director with anodyne crime dramas such as this. Des femmes disparaissent is a typical French 1950s thriller, an all too obvious imitation of the American gangster movie... [More...]

Deux hommes dans Manhattan (1959)

Jean-Pierre Melville was the French director who was most successful in transposing the American film noir genre to European cinema, and Deux hommes dans Manhattan is the film which shows its American roots most clearly. The film is set in New York, the dialogue is half English, half French, and most of the cast (excluding the lead characters) are American actors... [More...]

Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre (1959)

Jean Gabin reprises the role of Inspector Maigret for the second time in what is one of the best film outings for Georges Simeon’s famous detective hero. The self-assured and efficient direction comes from Jean Delannoy, one of the pillars of quality cinema of the 1940s and 1950s, who, at the time, was being vilified by the hot-headed young critics of the Cahiers du cinéma... [More...]

Un témoin dans la ville (1959)

With two successful crime dramas under his belt, director Edouard Molinaro stays with the genre and delivers what is quite possibly his darkest and most stylish film. Taking his inspiration from American noir thrillers and their French counterparts – notably the policiers films of Jean-Pierre Melville – Molinaro constructs a well-honed suspense thriller which... [More...]

Comment qu'elle est! (1960)

Just as French cinema was going through its most significant upheaval for decades, FBI agent Lemmy Caution made a welcome return to cinema screens after an absence of nearly five years. Forget the French New Wave; we are back in the safe, familiar world of sauve secret agents, svelte and seductive women, guns and fist fights... [More...]

Le Trou (1960)

Le Trou, Jacques Becker’s last film, is undoubtedly the director’s best work and was hailed at the time (particularly by the New Wave directors such as François Truffaut) as a masterpiece. Today, it remains a compelling film, superbly directed and photographed with a remarkable attention to detail. The film bears some similarity to Robert Bresson’s 1956 film Un condamné... [More...]

Plein soleil (1960)

Despite its sumptuous colour photography and expansive Mediterranean location, Plein soleil has all the characteristics of a classic film noir and is unmistakably director René Clément’s most confident and inspired foray into the thriller genre. The film is based on a popular novel by Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr Ripley)... [More...]

Tirez sur le pianiste (1960)

With one successful film (Les quatre cents coups) under his belt, director François Truffaut was free to indulge himself in two of his personal passions, American gangster movies and male-female relationships. The result is Tirez sur le pianiste, a pastiche of gangster film and film noir which is both visually impressive and funny... [More...]

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