Maurice, just out of jail, seeks out revenge from a fence who had his wife killed. Maurice kills the fence and steels some jewellery which he hides. But the murder is not enough. Maurice prepares an other heist with Silien, whom the ‘milieu’ (the underworld) suspects to be a ‘doulos’ (an informer). ‘Le Doulos’ is one of Melville’s many homages to American Cinema. The sets for the offices of Commissaire Clain were modelled on those used by Ruben Mamoulian in ‘City Streets’. For the confrontation scene between Silien and Clain, Melville directed a 9 min. 39 sec. shot with a 360 degree pan.
Credits: Producer, Georges de Beauregard ; director, Jean-Pierre Melville ; writers, Jean-Pierre Melville, Elisabeth Rappeneau ; photography, Nicolas Hayer ; music, Paul Misraki ; art direction, Daniel Gueret, Pierre Charron ; assistant directior, Vol
Cast: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani, Jean Desailly, Fabienne Dali, Michel Piccoli, Marcel Cuvelier, Jack Leonard, Aime de March, Monique Hennessy.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
X000522
Language
English
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)