Toi... le venin

Strange enough, all the previous comments merely described the beginning and left the details over. I feel a necessity to confirm that this is a family work, since Marina Vlady was also Robert Hossein's wife, and the - excellent - jazz music was written by te director's father, André. Under these circumstances, no wonder it was a really good thriller, seen when issued and immediately identified with the music. The suspense was flawless, and maintained throughout until the end. Robert Hossein, at the time one of the best European players, managed to impose himself also as a top screen and stage director. He's still putting up great stage shows, with a preference for religious subjects.harry carasso, Paris, France

I first saw this film in 1959 at age 13 and it made quite an impression. The image of a blonde beauty, bare-breasted in a car in the shadows of the night, was simply too much and it stayed in my mind forever. At the advent of the home video industry, a re-encounter with the nasty little film seemed possible but I had to wait three decades for it to become true. I am happy to report that thanks to the Gaumont folks in France, "Toi, le venin" came out in style, a magnificent print in black & white, in Blu-ray no less. The edition includes an original trailer and an interview with Marina Vlady talking about her character in the movie. Often, films that impressed us when young are as huge disappointment when we see them as adults. Thankfully this is not the case with "Toi, le venin" since, apart from the bare-breasted blonde, it is a fine film that will maintain your attention from beginning to end. Don´t miss it! They don´t make movies like this anymore.

WHEN I first saw this film, in London, in 1958, I was bowled over. I had never seen a film like this before. It had a strange, hypnotic effect, quite unlike the films that I had seen previously and it left a lasting impact.

I believe that Odile Versios & Marina Vlady are sisters, if not twins. Certainly the interaction is amazing in its power to influence the viewer.

If this has been converted to DVD - in Region 2 format - and in the original French language, I would love to hear about it & where it can be purchased.

A man looks for the mysterious young lady who tried to crush him one evening

One night, while he promenades in the streets of Nice, Victor Menda is accosted by a fair young lady in the steering wheel of Cadillac. The attractive creature, whose face stays in the shadow, invites Victor to rise, give herself fervently to him then stick him the cannon of a revolver on the temple and order him to get off. While he goes away, she tries to crush him. Victor just escapes death. Furious, he has the reflex to note the number of the car. A fast inquiry leads him around a big house where live two very resembling sisters, both fair.

More "Riviera noir" as Robert Hossein directs and stars in a suspenseful "romantic" thriller that predicts the dysfunctional family dynamics of Robert Aldrich's WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? a half-decade later.

Canned TV personality Pierre Menda blew his last dime at the Nice casinos and hits the road on foot where he's offered a ride by a mysterious blonde in a white car and mink coat. He can't make out her face in the shadows but it doesn't matter once she pulls over and opens her coat to reveal that's all she's got on. They have sex and when it's over, she kicks him out of the car and tries to run him down but luckily Pierre manages to get the woman's license plate number before she speeds off into the night. This clue eventually leads him to a waterfront mansion where two blonde sisters live, one demure and the other vivacious despite being confined to a wheelchair. Neither one seems likely to be the wanton that raped him but curious nonetheless, he accepts their invitation to stay the night and it's not long before the sisters offer him a job, a place to live, and their love. Uh oh.

A throbbing jazz score and a bitterly ironic twist at the end top off what looks to be a reel family affair: director Hossein adapted his friend Frédéric Dard's pulp novel and co-starred with his wife, Marina Vlady, and sister-in-law Odile Versois. His father, André Hossein, composed the music.