La mort d'un tueur

Although he is known as an actor,Robert Hossein was a fine film noir director .His "toi le venin" should appeal to people who enjoyed De Palma's "sisters" (1973).

"Mort d'un tueur" takes a hackneyed screenplay and brilliantly succeeds in surprising.Only the middle part ,with strip tease scenes ,seems irrelevant padding.

A gangster,who was given away to the Police,returns home to take his vengeance.Blending elements from Hawks's "Scarface" (the man actually in love with his sister who loves one of his accomplices) and Duvivier's "Pépé le Moko" (the alleys ,the tragic ending) ,and adding a suspenseful scene in an arena where the two men play Russian roulette,in front of the whole city underworld ,Hossein made a black and white little gem,where ambiguity is not absent.The flashbacks are smartly included in the plot,and present and past seem to meet when ,once again,the hero is given away..