Henri Pasquier is the prodigal and profligate son. Daddy Warbucks takes away his car so the kid goes rogue. Steals a car and before long we're treated to an excellent car chase through the streets of Paris. Remember, this is 35 years before Bullitt and French Connection. Hollywood movies at the time barely left the studio.
Henri soon finds out the car-theft business is an organized racket. Luckily for him, they're hiring.
The plot then really gets going, with beautiful women distracting wealthy car owners from daring daylight car thefts on the streets of Paris. The head of the international car-theft ring is devious and charming in his own way. We get a plethora of interesting side characters. And a gorgeous love interest for Henri.
Complications arise when Henri goes to bat for better wages for the crew, so the boss cooks up a scheme to get rid of him.
Now I'm supposed to note that Bad Seed is Billy Wilder's directorial debut. He was temporarily in France after fleeing Natsy Germany. While the exterior scenes are very well done, the interior scenes are, at times, pretty stiff. Maybe that was the work of co-director Alex Esway.
Luckily, Wilder co-wrote the screenplay. The plot works on every level. The characters are believable, gritty, and lively. The setting is second-to-none.
Henri soon finds out the car-theft business is an organized racket. Luckily for him, they're hiring.
The plot then really gets going, with beautiful women distracting wealthy car owners from daring daylight car thefts on the streets of Paris. The head of the international car-theft ring is devious and charming in his own way. We get a plethora of interesting side characters. And a gorgeous love interest for Henri.
Complications arise when Henri goes to bat for better wages for the crew, so the boss cooks up a scheme to get rid of him.
Now I'm supposed to note that Bad Seed is Billy Wilder's directorial debut. He was temporarily in France after fleeing Natsy Germany. While the exterior scenes are very well done, the interior scenes are, at times, pretty stiff. Maybe that was the work of co-director Alex Esway.
Luckily, Wilder co-wrote the screenplay. The plot works on every level. The characters are believable, gritty, and lively. The setting is second-to-none.