Dai sbirro

Typical of what French novelist Raf Vallet wrote, see for instance MORT D'UN POURRI, the George Lautner's film also adpted from a Raf Vallet - Jean Laborde - 's book. Another very searing picture, "attack" against politicians in general, all stories involving rotten politicians ready to anything to achieve their goals. Even the nastier things. Here, you may expect the duo Lino Ventura and Patrick Dewaere, and yoou have it, but maybe not the way you hoped it to be. Patrick Dewaere was still "uploading" in his career, he was not yet the star he will become several years later, his role here would have been the same with any actor instead of him. He lacks his "true" personality, here. But his character is good, the face to face between two generations. But I repeat, any actor would have done the same. The same cast: Ventura and Dewaere in the early eighties, would have been terrific, because in this period, the latest had grown up in the meanwhile. Claude Brosset is terrific here as the villain, he partly steals the show. He co stars here Henri Lambert, another famous French villain whom I have always confounded with Brosset. Same kind of faces and supporting characters. Good entertaining political crime flick. Very strange and unexpected ending....

"His face was his fortune" is one description of Lino Ventura, the former wrestler turned actor. In movies like The Sicilian Clan and Adieu Poulet, he played a tough cop as well as any actor on either side of the Atlantic. In Adieu Poulet, as Verjeat the cop on a mission, Ventura's character has almost everyone lined up against him: a cop killer, a political big shot in Rouen who has connections to the national government in Paris and, of course, Verjeat's superiors who consider him a loose cannon. Adieu Poulet already shows the decline in the French film industry from only a few years earlier, when French films were regularly shown in art house theaters in the United States. The production values of this movie are almost non-existent, the budget of this film must have been a tenth of The Sicilian Clan made six years earlier and financed by 20th Century Fox's French movie distribution company. That movie opened in the USA at the Sutton on 57th Street in NYC in 1970 and got a fairly wide release. Adieu Poulet was released in the USA in 1979, playing at the 68th Street Playhouse, where New York Times reviewer Vincent Canby gave the movie a bad review. Then oblivion for Adieu Poulet.

I was able to see the movie with subtitles only because eight years ago CUNY-TV used to show French movies on its cable channel, subtitles courtesy of Julia McPhail. Adieu Poulet's tale involves crooked politicians, the goons they hire to stamp out their opposition and even the operator of a whorehouse who says she has connections, so Verjeat had better lay off her, after an old customer drops dead in a bed with a built in vibrator. You know, the subject of whores, politicians distancing themselves from the deaths of civil servants and cover-ups of corruption are as timely now in New York City as over 30 years ago in Rouen.

Just look at the cover-up of the deaths of the two firefighters at the Deutsche Bank building fire in downtown Manhattan, where Fire Commissioner Scoppetta (who never spent a minute working as a firefighter) is protecting himself and his boss, Mayor Bloomberg, by demoting FDNY brass, convenient scapegoats for a fire at a building demolition project apparently being handled by a firm with organized crime ties. At least in Adieu Poulet, the crooked politicians know that the solution to the Verjeat problem is a promotion, not a demotion. In NYC, whether it is reports by firefighters of massive explosions at the WTC buildings on 9/11 or the giant arson fire at the abandoned Brooklyn rope factory warehouse (whose owner already had cleared out another building he owned with an arson fire) or the $75 million demolition fee paid to demolish the Deutsche Bank building, silence is golden.

But the tough cops played by Lino Ventura are fictional characters. In the real world, in New York City, arson investigators spend their time not investigating crime but chauffeuring Fire Commissioner Scoppetta to meetings. At least Lardatte, the scheming politician in Adieu Poulet, is not a double dipper like Scoppetta, who collects a big NYC government pension on top of his even bigger FDNY Commissioner salary and is only good at lying and covering up arson fires by connected real estate developers. Only in New York, not Rouen.

In the French city of Rouen an election is marred by a fight between the supporters of two of the candidates. In the fracas a man is beaten to death and the killer then shoots a passing police officer! The officer has time to warn his colleagues that the killer is Proctor (Claude Brosset), a well-known thug whose brother is campaigning on behalf of law and order candidate Lardatte (Victor Lanoux)!

Commissaire Verjeat's (Lino Ventura) pursuit of Proctor is hampered by Lardatte for whom he has a personal dislike and misses no opportunity to humiliate. As a result he then finds himself with a very short time to capture Proctor, since he faces a promotion and a posting outside of Rouen, which will take him off the case. Verjeat is sure that this is courtesy of Lardatte and his police contacts! To cap it all, his sidekick, the eccentric Inspector Lefevre (Patrick Dewaere), implicates them both in a case of police corruption!

This French police drama focuses mainly on the politics of the police department and the often dubious relationship between police, criminals and politicians. What could be a routine docu-drama is enlivened by the contrasting performances of the no-nonsense Ventura and jester-like Dewaere. And there are also exciting moments like a siege of the city hall and an attempted arrest of Proctor, which is ruined when Lefevre's change falls out of his pocket!

In 1970 Jean Gabin, ranked 18th in the list of 'Greatest Frenchmen', appeared in 'La Horse', a lamentable opus by Pierre Granier-Deferre which even Gabin's presence could not save. A considerable improvement is this later film from the same director which stars Lino Ventura, who was destined to assume Gabin's mantle and is ranked 23rd.

Ventura plays Commissaire Verjeat, an avenging angel in true Dirty Harry mode whilst the inspired casting of Patrick Dewaere as his hot-headed assistant provides another fascinating variant on the tried and trusted filmic formula of established versus rising star. As well as possessing that indefinable something extra, both actors complement each other perfectly whilst the other side of the coin is represented by the morally vacuous characters that are played by Victor Lanoux, Claude Rich and Julien Guiomar.

This is one of the films generally credited with helping to establish the sub-genre known as 'neo-polar' which is characterised by punchy dialogue, taut editing, high body count, maximum machismo and minimal femininity. The basic subject matter is redeemed however by the typically French emphasis on character rather than plot.

Although 'La Horse' is pretty awful one must acknowledge the excellence of this director's other collaboration with Gabin, 'Le Chat'. The brilliant Dewaere went from strength to strength before his tragically early demise. Ventura is, as always, great value in this but to suggest, as one critic has done, that this film represents 'arguably his finest hour' is frankly, absolute nonsense, as this would mean overlooking 'L 'Armée des Ombres', 'Cadaveri eccelenti' and 'Garde a Vue'.

Cop movie was truly a big part of French cinema in the 60's and the 70's. And this one is true to the genre. Granier-Deferre is able to make us care for commissaire Vergeat, the cop who's ready to use unorthodox ways to catch the bad guy. But Vergeat's way of doing things gets him into trouble. He's got to play politics. Ah! poor Vergeat!

One last thing: Lino Ventura does a terrific job playing the commissaire.

Out of 100, I give Adieu Poulet 82. That's good for *** out of ****.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on September 11th, 2002.