When French superstar Alain Delon turned to producing his own vehicles, he opted to tackle more serious subjects (usually of some social relevance) – if, shrewdly, still within the framework of a commercial property. I recently watched him in TWO MEN IN TOWN (1973),where he played a Jean Valjean-like ex-convict hounded by a stern police inspector.

This one stays even more within the conventions of the thriller genre (it was adapted from a Richard Matheson novel) while trying to portray the genuine case history of a female homicidal maniac; unfortunately, lead actress Mireille Darc (Delon's then-current partner, with whom she was paired a number of times) isn't up to the requirements of the role, dispelling any form of comparison with Catherine Deneuve's far more successful turn in REPULSION (1965). Co-star Claude Brasseur, then, is usually a fine actor but his character here comes across as too much of a buffoon – so that he lacks the strength to adequately deploy the essential animosity towards Delon's typically suave and apparently all-powerful lawyer! Nicoletta Macchiavelli, however, scores in the smallish role of Delon's long-suffering wife; he's in love with Darc, whom he had defended while on trial for her husband's murder.

Philippe Sarde contributes the melancholy and giallo-tinged score – in fact, the film features a swift aggression in a darkened parking-lot and a couple of murders (both occurring off-screen, though we're shown their graphic aftermath). Incidentally, while the title itself would suggest an erotic thriller (of a type which would soon become fashionable in Hollywood – BASIC INSTINCT [1992], BODY OF EVIDENCE [1993], COLOR OF NIGHT [1994], etc.),nudity is only present in one scene towards the end! The finale, then, is interesting if somewhat too abrupt (not to say, melodramatic).

Reading about French Thriller's from the 70's a few years ago,one of the first to catch my eye was a title described as being similar to the Giallo sub-genre,which I sadly could not find anywhere. Taking a look at recent listings of a DVD seller,I was surprised to see the original version (with Eng Subs) appear,which led to me catching my breath.

View on the film:

Pouring the Film Noir excellence of his 1962 title Le septième juré over Giallo ice, writer/director Georges Lautner reunites with juré cinematographer Maurice Fellous to effortlessly swig across genres,with Lautner crystallising their Thriller with the Giallo stylisation of rapid fire zooms,shining razorblades and pristine whites casting an icy atmosphere. Ending the mystery with a gunshot of Noir tragedy, Lautner dices the mystery with suspenseful first-person tracking shots which circle around each suspect.

Currently the lone French adaptation of a Richard Matheson book, the screenplay by Lautner drills seeds of doubt over the identity of the killer by gripping ambiguity over the reserved feelings of Femme Fatale Peggy Lister,and the wrestling for her attention between Marc Rilson and François Rollin.Giving him and his then-girlfriend the lead roles as producer, Alain Delon and sexy Mireille Darc give very good performance as Rilson and Lister,with Darc walking Lister round in a dream-like state, and Delon giving Rilson a brittle compassion over finding that someone is bleeding.

It is to my knowledge the only novel by the great Richard Matheson to have been transferred to the screen by a French director.

Georges Lautner,who made Mireille Darc a star in the sixties was responsible for ponderous comedies.From time to time,he would come up with an intriguing offbeat work.So were the highly superior "le septieme juré", "La route de Salina" (Rita Hayworth's fans should have a look) and "la maison assassinée"."Les seins de glace" (Matheson's "someone is bleeding ") has a good title:it's a wordplay: in French ,"saint" (saint) and seins (breast) are homonyms ."Les saints de glace" is a short period (11th ,12th and 13th of May) when the weather is reportedly cold.And the heroine's breasts are icy cause she cannot stand men anymore.

Unfortunately ,I do not think that this movie is on a par with the three movies I mention above:first of all,Mireille Darc is a limited actress and her acting is not effective in a part which demands intensity,mystery and ambiguousness.Think of Catherine Deneuve in Roman Polanski's "repulsion" and you will know what I mean.But that's not the only flaw.First intriguing and even absorbing in its first half hour ,the movie becomes repetitive and drags on.You will guess the final twist long before the end.

Delon appears only after 20 minutes.He and Darc were in love at the time and that explains why the final scene has a certain strength ,not unlike what the French call "amour fou"