Take 2 men - French style.

Add caption

I had never heard of the Delon and Gabin starrer TWO MEN IN TOWN (DEUX HOMME DANS LE VILLE), from 1973. It can't have even opened here or I would have heard or read about it at the time. We like their teaming in MELODIE EN SOUS SOL, that snazzy casino heist by Verneuil in 1963 with its widescreen black and white and jazzy score and that killer final scene by the pool .... both guys were the epitome of French cool (like Alain and Belmondo in BORSALINO in 1970); their 1969 THE SICILIAN CLAN is a nice caper movie too, not to be taken seriously. More on these and other French gangster flicks at labels .... Here is what they say about the two guys in town:

A hard-boiled crime drama and an impassioned indictment of capital punishment, this is the third and final on-screen collaboration between Jean Gabin, France's pre-eminent film star, and the '70s Gallic anti-hero Alain Delon.

After an early release arranged by prison reformer Gabin, ex-safe cracker Delon is devastated by personal tragedy and makes a new start in the South of France, finds honest work and a new love. But a vengeful cop begins to stalk him and his ex-gang are eyeing up the bank where his girlriend (Mimsy Farmer) works, so his determination to go straight is pushed to the breaking point. 

Written and directed by Jose Giovanni (LE TROU),  a real pardoned death row inmate, TWO MEN IN TOWN fuses the two-fisted social commentary of Warner Bros 1930s heyday with the naturalistic storytelling of 1970s French noir cinema, and has an evocative score by Phillipe Sarde.

Well that sums it up nicely, its engrossing, the two leads are fine as usual, there is also a young Gerard Depardieu, and the marvellous Michel Bouquet (LA FEMME INFIDELE, THE BRIDE WORE BLACK etc). 

Its actually part of an Alain Delon Collection on Kino Video and the extras include trailers of 10 other Delon flicks in the collection - nothing essential from what I have got already. This one though is worthwhile. Gabin of course is as effortlessly watchable as ever, as is Delon, maturing nicely here, hard to think he is over 80 now. For lots more Delon (and Gabin) check labels.