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Wow! This French thriller had me on the edge of my seat. The film begins behind the closed doors of a jury room where the members are arguing about the fate of a man who strangled his wife in a jealous rage. The room is split between the guillotine and ten years hard labor until one juror, Cassel (played brilliantly by Paul Frankeur), convinces his peers to acquit the guilty man by appealing to their emotions, asking each one, "Would you have done the same thing if you were in his shoes?"

Richard, the wife strangler, is now free and walking along a lonely beach where he spies an attractive skinny-dipping flight attendant, Dany (played by the beautiful Magali Vendeuil). He works his boyish charms on her and before you know it, they're making plans to marry. Dany is unaware of Richard's past but that changes quickly as her father turns out to be Cassel, the forgiving juror, and he reveals to her Richard's secret. Dany pauses for a few seconds and decides to marry Richard anyway.

As a wedding gift, Dany's friends give her a canary in a bird cage which is pretty much the harbinger for the rest of the film; Dany is secluded away above a dingy gas station that was gifted to Richard. The gas station is on a lonely stretch of highway were few travelers stop. Even seclusion doesn't lessen Richard's insane jealousy as he melts down when anyone happens to glance at his bride.

Despite Richard's insane jealously, Dany loves him unconditionally but he's too blind to see it. Richard works himself up to a deadly fervor. Can Dany survive Richard's wraith? Hunt down this classic and find out for yourselves.

Superb directorial duties by actor, Rager Saltel elevate this film above a simple crime drama. Double Verdict was the first of only two films Saltel directed and that's a shame because Double Verdict is a suspenseful film with not a wasted frame. Another surprise to me, after I checking her IMDb filmography, was that Magali Vendeuil, who played Dany, only had twelve film credits to her name, yet, appeared in films every ten years for five decades (1952 to 1996).

If you are a film noir or Hitchcock fan, this little 1961 French thriller will give you plenty of darkness and chills. I highly recommend it.

Kill and Be Killed is a very fun Argentinian noir-esque thriller starring Olga Zubarry (Dubarry in the credits) as, Elisa, a former jewel thief who has been released from a five-year stint in prison and, with the help of her mother, she procures a job working as a nurse for a retired prima donna opera singer; her mother happens to be the singer's caretaker. Just as Elisa is settling into her nursing duties, she meets and is smitten by, Fernando, the singer's debonair nephew.

We soon discover that Fernando is a womanizing, broke, leech who hangs around the estate just to receive hand-outs from his aunt. Elisa, who is ignorant of Fernanando's debauchery, falls in love with the slob and the two make plans on poisoning the aunt and running away to get married. Of course, Fernando has no intention of consummating the courtship, as he has his eyes on a young, beautiful cabaret singer.

I don't want to spoil anything for you but the film spins a wonderful web of suspicion and uncertainty involving a meddling doctor, the meddling doctor's son, a cold-blooded murder, a doubting detective, Hitchcockian train shenanigans and an ending to satisfy any noir fan.

The story and the acting are excellent but it is the cinematography by Manuel Berenguer that is the real star; his use of high-contrast lighting, fluid camera movements and complex framing add to the suspense and rivals anything coming out of France at the time.

I highly recommend this one.

A wonderful interactive street-art project based on the philosophies originated by the Church of the SubGenius, the band DEVO, the David Cronenberg film Videodrome and the television miniseries Wild Palms is turned into a very tedious mockumentary. Unfortunately, unless you participated in the analog-geocaching-role-playing-game, watching The Institute can be a very eye-rolling experience. Much of the film is filled with poorly acted re-enactments, hokey "found footage" and phony interviews.

If you make it past the sixty minute mark, it becomes very apparent that you are watching a semi-talented improv-group's re-imagining of David Fincher's The Game starring Michael Douglas. I love ingenious street-art and clever stunts and would have loved to have watched a serious documentary about how the artist(s) came up with this very well thought-out hoax, but to sit down and watch what you know is a joke, gets very tiring and very boring very quickly.