User Reviews

A wealthy middle-aged woman courts and marries a younger man with a seriously impressive six-pack. This is a sad miscalculation, as her husband, who is a pretty immoral character, grows to resent her and begins an adulterous relationship with her beautiful secretary. Even the dream honeymoon turns into a tangle of nastiness and deceit...

"Une manche" is a fine noir with a good, suspenseful plot, riveting stunts and outstanding acting. Isa Miranda, Henri Vidal and Mylène Demongeot are all in fine acting fettle and deliver a mesmerizing spectacle. The black-and-white cinematography is superbly nuanced, creating all kind of subtle jokes and effects. Watch the way in which the light of sparkling jewellery caresses a cheek : there's an almost tactile quality about it.

If you like the movie, be sure to look up another noir gem called "Retour de manivelle" - it's got a very similar feel.

The title means that you've won a game and finally everything in a card or a sports game ;it is a hint at the game Alfred Adam plays with his mates while Henri Vidal is doing very bad things behind his back.

Henri Verneuil,the pretentious Nouvelle Vague was always putting down,is the perfect Saturday-night-at-the-movies director.His movies are commercial,for sure ,they are not art house cinema ,but this director,who displayed respect for his audience,never pretended to work any other way,as latter works would show ;they are actually all very entertaining ,and to my eyes , not in the least likely to make me yawn my head off,as it is often the case with Godard's meaningful ,deep,would be masterworks.

Henri Vidal ,two years before his death,was the most popular actor of the era ,although addicted to drugs;his Partner,sexy Mylène Demongeot ,appears topless in a brief sequence ;this actress ,who shone in "Les Sorcières De Salem " (from Arthur Miller),got lost into mediocrities in the sixties,when they wanted her to become another Bardot;and Isa Miranda is the wealthy aging woman,prole Vidal marries for her money ;it becomes soon obvious he 'd rather have her secretary (Demongeot) and the lovers decide to get rid of the burdensome woman who enjoys poetry ,unlike his rude uneducated hubby.

Vidal's "alibi" is a bit too implausible ,but one cannot deny the suspense is sustained till they find the dead(?) body of the wife;and there's another unexpected twist ,for the hot secretary leads a double life .An user pointed it out,the final scene disappoints a bit,but it is all in all a good thriller with a touch of humor thrown in for good measure.

Just before gathering up 100 French films to watch over 100 days,I decided to watch Julien Duvivier's superb adaptation of James Hadley Chase's Chair de Poule,which a fellow IMDber had very kindly given me the chance to discover.Being very interested in seeing another Chase adaptation over the 100 days,I was pleased to get the opportunity from a kind fellow IMDber to witness a new French Film Noir take on Chase,which led to me getting ready to see the killer kiss.

The plot:

Sent to approve a transaction,bank clerk Philippe Delaroche meets lonely heiress Betty Farnwell.Taken by Delaroche's good looks,Farnwell's asks him out,and quickly gets married to Delaroche.Going on a luxury honeymoon with his new wife, Delaroche gets his first glimpse of Farnsworth's much younger assistant Eva Dollan. Enchanted by her sexy looks, Delaroche goes behind Farnwell's back,and starts an affair with Dollan during the honeymoon (what a gent!) During the honeymoon, Delaroche finds himself enjoying Farnwell's cash,whilst also enjoying the sense of danger tied in his affair with Dollan.Wanting to get out of the marriage in order to get closer to Dollan, Delaroche starts making plans over how he can get his cold hands on Betty's riches.

View on the film:

Stomping around her hollow mansion, Isa Miranda gives a brilliant frosty performance as Farnwell,whose diamonds and lavish dresses Miranda burns away to expose the chard soul of a dame who has been pushed to the side one too many times.Dressed to impress in sharp suits, Henri Vidal gives a crisp performance as Film Noir rogue Philippe Delaroche,as Vidal shatters Delaroche's chiselled looks to uncover the menace laying in waiting.Diving in,the sexy Mylène Demongeot (who appears topless!) gives an exquisite performance as Dollan,by Demongeot giving Dollan a fragile appearance,which allows Dollan to wrap herself around Delaroche.

Giving Farnwell a viper tongue,the screenplay by co-writer/(along with François Boyer & Annette Wademant) director Henri Verneuil kisses Film Noir with decayed melodrama. Shutting them all in the mansion,the writers make the major setting in their adaptation of Chase's pulp one that is rotten to the core,where all the wealth that Delaroche finds himself surrounded by,leads to a burning desire to get as much of it for himself as possible.

Following Delaroche into the mansion, Verneuil and cinematographer Christian Matras stylishly take an "upward" view,that displays the paintings that Farnwell's has had done of herself,and also,how despite being painted in cash,how much the mansion and its inhibitions have slid into the harsh Film Noir shade. Backed by a shimmering score from Paul Durand, Verneuil gives the outdoor scenes a fantastic,simmering Film Noir mood,thanks to the glare of the baking sun allowing Verneuil to keep Farnwell blinded by a wickedly cynical streak of humour,as Delaroche gives Farnwell's a killer's kiss.

Henri Verneuil ("The Burglars," "The 25th Hour") displays his finesse with this early accomplishment, 1957's "Killer for a Killer" (AKA: "Une Mannche et la Belle") starring Henri Vidal and Mylene Demongeot (Otto Preminger's "Bonjour Tristesse"). Based on an somewhat obscure novel by James Hadley Chase titled appropriately "The Sucker Punch," the well crafted screenplay by Verneuil, Francois Boyer and Annette Wademmant is so skillfully directed and acted (I am sure audiences would be more familiar with Vidal today as he consistently worked consistently since the forties until he died at the age of forty not long after this film was released. Demongeot may have had more notoriety to her name today, but she amounted to little more than a poor man's Bardot. But they are both good here with Isa Miranda playing the rich older woman they conspire to kill, with several twists and the much fore-shadowed, but devastating "sucker punch" provided by the great handling of the plot. Verneuil is definitely a director to look out as he consistently delivers from what I've seen from him so far. Also outstanding is the music by Paul Durand, cinematography by Christian Matras and the editing by Louisette Hautecoeur. The copy I saw had been provided with a great transfer to DVD by Rene Château Video and Cinedis. A real diamond! But you know they CAN be found "in the rough."

French directors have made several films based on James Hadley Chase's tales of greed and lust. I've seen "Retour de manivelle" and "Highway Pick-up". both excellent, but Verneuil's film trumps them both. Betty Farmwell (Isa Miranda) is a very rich, rather imperious lady of a certain age living on the French Riviera. She falls in love with Philippe (Henri Vidal) a not very bright chancer who works for her bank. She makes all the running and soon marries him: as the French say, there is one who loves and one who is loved, and being loved by Betty guarantees Philippe an easy life. Things soon sour and they're in separate bedrooms. This can't be because Betty's an old hag (Miranda was very attractive and the age gap wasn't as big as that between Swanson and Holden in "Sunset Boulevard".) Trouble is that Philippe realises he's basically a gigolo, with no money of his own, and that Eva (Betty's secretary, not niece as per the storyline) is the one he wants. This is understandable, as Mylene Demongeot is gorgeous, smart and apparently sweet in the role. It turns out she's far from sweet, and she gently nudges Philippe towards trying to kill Betty. There follow a serious of delicious twists as Philippe's scheme unravels. The film looks great, the direction and acting are first class. It's hard to believe that Vidal, who looks in such great shape, was a drug addict with only two years to live. My only criticism is that Philippe's attempt to create an alibi was pretty unconvincing, especially since his police inspector friend was in the next room, but the way the alibi is rumbled was another reason to cheer. My thanks once more to MovieDetective for another unsung classic, which I'd never heard off before I found it on their brilliant site.