In the second half of the fifties ,Henri Decoin's natural flair for film noir was slowly but inexorably fading away."Le Feu aux Poudres" is a mediocre flick but what was to come later was worse ,a dreadful spate of turkeys :only maybe "Malefices" based on a Boileau /Narcejac novel would deserve to be watched but it is currently impossible to find it;there are also good scenes in the first "Chatte" but that's about it.
"Le Feu aux poudres" is another gangsters movie .It deals with arms dealing and it is obvious that Peter Van Eyck has an almost worthless part:he is given one scene to shine,when he tells Pellegrin about "man who will always kill for it is his nature":for a short while,Decoin regains his pessimism which made "Non Coupable" "La File Du Diable" or "La Verite sur Bebe Donge" great films noirs.
Apart from that,the audience will visit Roquefort village with its cellars full of the famous cheese ,and there's a funny scene when Lino Ventura and his pal ,the cops,try to make Charles Vanel say (they are recording a tape to fool his accomplices) "Demain Il Sera Trop Tard" (Tomorrow will be too late).
Françoise Fabian ,an earnest thespian has a decorative part and Raymond Pellegrin is wasted.
