Originally planning to make Rififi the final film in my current Robert Hossein viewings,I suddenly spotted a Film Noir starring Hossein,which I had picked up ages ago and had forgotten about viewing!,which led to me getting ready to go on the heist.The plot:Since knowing each other in school,two school friends have been well aware of the different routes they have taken,with Kramer becoming a police officer,whilst his former pal has given himself the name "Dillinger" and has become the leading gangster in the country.Meeting Kramer for the first time in years, Dillinger decides to put an act on and pretend to Kramer that he will calm things down,as Dillinger and his gang set their sights on staging a heist at the border crossings. View on the film:Rolling out as a French/Italian co-production,co-writer/(along with Georges & André Tabet) director Sergio Gobbi and cinematographer Daniel Diot hoist the Italian Crime elements to the front. Despite my viewing options not being the best, (90% of the film dubbed in English,and the other 5% being in French with no subtitles! ) these obstacles were not able to block the bonkers delights offed by Gobbi,who spans the roads of France with ultra-stylised tracking shots of smash & grab attacks,which ropes in the random running over of pedestrians,and a baby being caught in the middle of a shoot-out.Crashing into a sign marked "subtle",the screenplay by Gobbi and the Tabet's give the tough Film Noir gangsters a refreshing comedic bite,with Dillinger and his mob flying dry one liners with the bullets at the cops. Branded with the infamous US gangster name, Robert Hossein gives a terrific performance as Dillinger,thanks to Hossein rolling Dillinger with a menacing atmosphere over beating his former school pal Kramer in the heist.

As far as French film noir is concerned ,Sergio Gobbi represents the nadir .All his movies are simplistic and derivative ,and when he has got a good idea ,he is not able to exploit it successfully: making the cop and the gangster school friends was certainly interesting ,but when it consists of sepia old movies introduced in the present, it does not amount to anything;and however ,both studied in an independent Roman Catholic school!!The cop (Aznavour) has a talk with the venerable priest principal; The gangster(Hossein) ,fascinated by the American names,calls himself "Dillinger" and when he meets the blond Virna Lisi -whose part is inept- ,it looks like a poor man's "Bonnie And Clyde"Music by Aznavour/Gavarentz;a song was even written and was on the radio (the title of the film) but is not heard in the movie.The movie was released late 1969;the IMDb information is not quite accurate .

Everyone seems to list this film as being 1979, but I saw it on Japan TV in 1976. Great plot has Hossein as a professional thief who is childhood friends (now rival) cop Aznavour who is hot on his trail. Hossein calls himself "dillinger" for he looks up to the old US bank robber. FRENCH CONNECTION's Bouzzuffi plays one of Hossein's henchman. Excellent car chase and stunt centers in a French version of a Italian action cinema route. The video print is a murkey TV print and has commerical edits, and is 20 minutes short and the character plot runs rough. Shown uncut on Showtime and Escapade cable channel back in 1981. I wish I had a VCR then. ): Recommended, but not the video print.