Two Men in Town (1976) DVD

A hard-boiled crime drama and an impassioned indictment of capital punishment, Two Men in Town is the third and final on-screen collaboration between Jean Gabin (Grand Illusion, Pepe Le Moko), France’s pre-eminent film star, and ’70s Gallic anti-hero Alain Delon (Flic Story, Purple Noon).

After an early release arranged by prison reformer Germain Cazeneuve (Gabin), ex-safe cracker Gino Strabliggi (Delon) is devastated by personal tragedy and banned, by statute, from returning to Paris. At Cazeneuve’s urging, Gino makes a new start in the south of France, finds honest work as a printer and new love in the form of Lucie (Mimsy Farmer – More), a beautiful bank officer. But when a vengeful cop begins to stalk him, and Gino’s ex-gang starts eyeing Lucie’s bank, Gino’s determination to go straight is pushed to the breaking point.

Written and directed by author José 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 fluent naturalistic storytelling of ’70s French noir cinema. Two Men in Town features a hauntingly evocative score by Phillipe Sarde (The Tenant).