Watching the credits fade on the enjoyably wacky 1970 Crime film The Heist,I started to believe that I had seen the last movie to feature actor Robert Hossein. Taking a look at some French DVDs that I picked up years ago (!) I was delighted to discover that I had Hossein's directing debut,which led to me getting ready to go to hell.

The plot:

Caught with a noose around the neck over one of them being suspected of giving details to the wardens about his fellow prisoners, Macquart and Rudel decide to break out.Punching the face in of anyone in their way, Macquart and Rudel, grab a prison car and drive off. Hoping to get miles away,the guys are instead hit with the car breaking down outside a beach house.Entering the house,the duo take out artist Georges Bagot. Grieving silently,Bagot's girlfriend Ava starts making plans of putting the guys in a prison of death.

View on the film:

Steeping in the cell and behind the camera for the first time,co- writer/(along with René Wheeler) director Robert Hossein (who gives a good gruff performance as fellow lag Fred) & cinematographer Michel Kelber cake the prison in a rancid Film Noir atmosphere. Setting off the rising damp,Hossein and Kelber smear the walls with mud,dirt and grime which ruggedly complements the jailbreak mind set of the duo. Cracking open the sun on Pierre Macquart and Rudel,Hossein keeps the claustrophobia of the prison raining down on them,as razor sharp edits from Charles Bretoneiche snaps the tension between the guys over Femme Fatale Eva,whilst Robert's dad André's exciting score gives the long Film Noir shadows cast over his sons mythical landscape shots an atmosphere of impending doom,and the poetic feeling of Macquart and Rudel slowly sinking into a new prison.

Unlocking Frédéric Dard's stage play,the screenplay by Hossein and Wheeler crush the stage roots into dust,as the writers swoop down on a Film Noir bear pit raging with dodgy wardens and nose to the grime stone prisoners,where reports of backstabbing are reported from the hammering of walls. Escaping jail,the writers brilliantly continue to pound the Film Noir walls of the prison,as Rudel and Macquart's already fragile relationship gets burnt at the edges,and the alluring sight of Ava leads to the guys dragging each other to hell.

Looking like a mirage on the beach,the stunning Marina Vlady, (who along with appearing in some suggestive clothes,was also 17 at the time!) gives an extraordinary performance as Ava. Limited to just a handful of lines,Vlady's dazzlingly expressive face and delicate body language reveal the Femme Fatale flame who will make the guys burn. Going on the run together, Henri Vidal and Serge Reggiani each give amazing performances as Macquart and Rudel,with both of them stabbing deep into Rudel and Macquart's decayed Film Noir weaknesses,as Ava looks across the beach,and sees the wicked go to hell.

I have a problem watching Robert Hossein as a director as much as I do as an actor. I sense an obsession with evil in man that I find unhealthily Manichean. ' Les Salauds vont en Enfer ' is a particularly nasty example and I believe Hossein's debut as a director. The first part takes place in a real hell of a prison and guillotine executions are somehow seen as normal. This first part indeed shows the evil that society only perpetuates by the cruellest of punishments. In the second part two escaped prisoners escape to a landscape that provides another hell of its own, and in between this ' natural ' punishment a 17 year old played by Marina Vlady seeks revenge. Why she seeks it is not only due to their desire for her, but something else which would be a spoiler. Both Serge Reggiani and Henri Vidal do their best with one-dimensional roles, and there is a gloating pleasure in the direction watching suffering. There is not a glimmer of hope anywhere in this scenario, and I agree with the reviewer that the music was totally wrong for the film. Visually there are a few arresting images, but this is not enough for the whole cinematic misery of it all. Hell to watch.

Les salauds vont en enfer (The Wicked Go to Hell) is directed by Robert Hossein and Hossein co-adapts the screenplay with René Wheeler from the Frédéric Dard play. It stars Marina Vlady, Henri Vidal and Serge Reggiani. Music is by André Hossein and cinematography by Michel Kelber.

Two escaped convicts hole up at a beach house and get more than they bargained for...

1955 was the year that Robert Hossein starred in Jules Dassin's brilliant crimer, Rififi, it was also the year where he began his directing career with this splendid slice of Frenchie film noir. Pic is very much a two parter, first part focuses on our two protagonists in prison. Standard prison noir rules are adhered to, with the shadows of the bars suitably oppressive, the murky confinements of the surroundings offering up a feeling of sorrowful pessimism. There's even a strong narrative thread that says one of the men may be a rat, which is a problem since they share a cell together! But they want out, and we want them out because we feel their claustrophobia in that there dank miserable prison.

Then the story goes outside, it's all airy, with sunshine even, but this is noir so darkness is never far away. It's here where we are introduced to our femme fatale, who comes in the form of Eva, played as crafty and sensual by Vlady. A turn of events has brought the three of them together, and as the story plays out there's a whole ream of human traits, foibles and wiles on show. It's all very deliciously sly, a trinity bouncing off of each other with a blend of mistrust and sexual energy. Which shunts us uneasily, yet in eager anticipation as well, towards the finale. Hossein (who also plays a part in the film) knows his noir, and he knows that the best noirs do not cop out at the end. Thus we have, well, the ending here.

The only misstep here is the musical score. Scored by Hossein's father, it's far too old school for the play on show, it would be more at home in a silent chiller of the 20s, or some Tod Slaughter twirling moustache horror of the 30s. A shame, for even though it isn't a film killer, a better and more tonally aware composition would have elevated this nifty noir to a grade higher. Also be advised that the subtitles don't hang around, read quickly folks! 8/10