Mémoires d'un flic (1956)
Directed by Pierre Foucaud, André Hunebelle

Film Review

Mémoires d'un flic was one of a small number of films directed by Pierre Foucaud, who is better known for his work as a screenwriter, including several popular films for director André Hunebelle.  Judging by this hackneyed crime drama, which manages to recycle just about every film noir cliché in the book, Foucaud would seem to have no obvious talent for directing and should have stuck with the day job.  Michel Simon gives the film some legitimacy, although even he looks somewhat miscast as a determined police chief up against a gang of ruthless racketeers.  The film is not helped by its poor production values, which include some truly risible use of back projection, but what kills it stone dead is its lacklustre direction and a borrowed plot that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination.  Were it not for some respectable work on the acting front (Suzy Prim and Pascale Roberts perform a creditable salvage operation) this would rate as one of the least inspired French films of its kind.

Film Synopsis

Chief-superintendent Dominique, the head of a crime squad in Marseille, finds himself in a difficult position when his son Gérard becomes mixed up with some racketeers.  It all began when Gérard met up with Fred, one of his old war buddies, not knowing he is implicated with a gang of hoodlums led by Marco and Lola.  When Marco tries to get rid of Fred, he ends up getting himself killed by his intended victim.  Dominique takes care of another gangster who had Fred in his sights...