User Reviews

Having another title waiting to be viewed,I quickly looked in my mountain of French films waiting to be seen for one I could plug in and play. Finding his Lucky Jo (1964-also reviewed) to be an excellent Film Noir,I got set to see Michel Deville unload the barrel.

View on the film:

Making his film making debut without the involvement of future editor/co-writing collaborator Nina Companeez, directing auteur Michel Deville offers tantalising glimpses to his future recurring motifs when co-writing/co-directing here with Charles Gerard, as jolts of Deville's abrupt smash and match-cuts are layered over Dick and Tony's money handling deeds. Whilst not blending seamlessly together, the set-pieces likely done by Charles Gerard (who did more acting than directing) have a refined Film Noir atmosphere, with the relaxed motions during well performed music numbers in the night club,and stilted wide-shots in the final, creating an oddly gentle vibe. Writing a year later the outstanding Film Noir The Road to Shame (1959-also reviewed), the screenplay by Albert Simonin and the two co-directors present a neat and tidy Film Noir package, whilst whilst not aiming for psychological depth, finds thrills in war vets Tony and Dick having to weigh how much trust they give to friendly gangster Pepere,as the last barrel is emptied.

When Tony (Pierre Vaneck) and Dick (Roger Hanin) were serving in Indochina/Vietnam they undertook to smuggle a great deal of money into France for a gangster known only as The Maltese. Instead they used the money to buy the Tip - Tap nightclub from Tepere (Paul Frankeur.) Now The Maltese is giving them three days to repay him, not easy when the club is losing money. Tepere offers a way out. Every week a rich smuggler puts two suitcases of gold onto a small plane. If Tony and Dick help Tepere and his henchman Alberto steal those cases their share will be enough to pay what they owe the Maltese. Trouble is our heroes aren't very bright: even though Tony is in love with the smuggler's daughter (Mijanou Bardot) they don't wear masks during the robbery. They're amateurs compares to Tepere and The Maltese, and double-crosses are inevitable.

IMDb shows this film as lasting 95 minutes, but when I watched it on YouTube it was only 69 minutes long. However, there were no continuity gaps, in fact there was some padding (Hazel Scott singing in the club, Vaneck and Mijanou running around.) The cast is pretty good. Mijanou plays Brigitte, not doubt an in-joke about her sister. She's not convincing as an ace golfer but she's more attractive than BB: no pouting and trying to be sexy, and it's a pity she soon married and retired. Vaneck is mostly associated with the films of Pierre Kast, a neglected auteur, and while Hanin generally played tough guys, he was less impressive than his contemporary Lino Ventura. There are early appearances by two of France's best actors: Jean Rochefort in his first film plays a waiter in the club, and Michel Lonsdale in his second is a champagne salesman.

The film was a first feature for Michel Deville and Charles Gerard. Deville went on to be one of France's most interesting directors, but Gerard made or co-directed only six features over a ten year period: none made a big mark, and he was mainly active as an actor. The two adapted a story by Albert Simonin, responsible inter alia for "Touchez Pas au Grisbi" and "Melodie en sous-sol." I won't pretend this film is in the same league, but I can recommend it as an enjoyable way to pass 69 minutes (or even 95.)

Tip-Top Nightclub owners and former legionnaires Tony (Pierre Vaneck) and his pal Dick (Roger Hanin) are in desperate need of cash to pay off a $75,000 note to mobster Le Maltais. At the end of their rope, they're approached by Pepere (the former owner of their club) who offers them a solution to their problem if they will help him heist half a million in gold from a local smuggler. At issue is that the mark is the father of Tony's girlfriend Bridgitte (Mijanou Bardot, BB's younger and just as hot sister). Of course, the boys will need a little more convincing and we come to understand that Pepere's offer was only part of an elaborate setup a la ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW. In fact, some parts of this movie seem to have been lifted whole by director Robert Wise for his film a year later. Do I have to say that the plan goes horribly wrong? M

I also was mainly interested in this film for the rare opportunity to see Brigitte Bardot's sister Mijanou in action; she is cute, but she doesn't have her sister's screen presence or mystique by any means. Besides, her role is pretty small. Apart from her, "A Bullet In The Barrel" is a disjointed crime drama that is so forgettable you are forgetting parts of it before the film is even over! The male lead is Roger Hanin, an actor I personally think is best suited for supporting roles; he was also the lead in a couple of Claude Chabrol spy movies made a few years later, and he didn't quite cut it there, either. And just when you think the film may finally go somewhere....it just ends, very abruptly. *1/2 out of 4.