''A Bullet Through the Heart'' (French: ''Une balle au cœur'', Greek: ''Μια σφαίρα στην καρδιά''), released in the United States as ''Devil at My Heels'', is a 1966 Franco-Greek drama film directed by

Jean-Daniel Pollet Jean-Daniel Pollet (; 1936–2004) was a French film director and screenwriter who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s. He was associated with two approaches to filmmaking: comedies which blended burlesque and melancholic elements, and poetic fil ...

Plot

Holding an old resentment against Montelepre, a Sicilian aristocratic family, an influential gangster named Rizzardi (

Vasilis Diamantopoulos Vasilis Diamantopoulos ( el, Βασίλης Διαμαντόπουλος; 15 November 1920 – 5 May 1999) was a Greek actor. He was one of the founders of the Modern Theater and was the first actor to appear live on Greek television in the si ...

) takes possession of the palace of the last member of the family, Francesco Montelepre (

Sami Frey Sami Frey (born Samuel Frei; 13 October 1937) is a French actor of Iranian Jewish descent. Among the films he starred in are '' En compagnie d'Antonin Artaud'' (1993), in which he portrays French poet and playwright Antonin Artaud, and '' Bande ...

), who he plans to kill. Stripped of his property, Francesco flees to Athens to find a witness for Rizzardi's crimes so that justice is done. Despite the help of Carla ( Jenny Karezi), a

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

, his search is in vain. And now Rizzardi's henchmen, led by Navarra ( Spýros Fokás) are in pursuit. Fleeing from village to village, Montelepre manages to kill them one by one. Meanwhile, he finds love with Anna (

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; born 17 January 1944) is a French former singer and songwriter. Mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads, Hardy has been an important figure in French pop music since her debut, spanning a career of ...

), a French tourist, with whom he decides to take refuge on an island. Still, Navarra finds and pursues them. Francesco kills him, but in the exchange of gunfire, Anna is fatally wounded by a bullet. Francesco returns to Sicily to take revenge by killing Rizzardi with Rizzardi killing Francisco.

Technical sheet

* French title: ''Une balle au cœur'' * Greek title: ''Μια σφαίρα στην καρδιά (Mia sfaira stin kardia)'' * Spanish title: ''Una bala en el corazon'' * UK title: ''A Bullet Through the Heart'' * US title: ''Devil at My Heels'' * Story:

Pierre Kast Pierre Kast (; 22 September 1920, Paris20 October 1984, Rome) was a French screenwriter and film and television director. Biography A member of the ''Cahiers du cinéma'' in the 1950s, Kast created many short films and documentaries. Kast died ...

* Dialogue: Didier Goulard, Maurice Fabre * Cinematographer:

Alain Levent Alain Levent (15 September 1934 – 28 August 2008) was a French cinematographer and film director. He worked on 80 films between 1960 and 2007. His 1972 film ''The Bar at the Crossing'' was entered into the 22nd Berlin International Film F ...

* Film editor: Denise de Casabianca * Composer:

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He Film score, scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek (film) ...

* Sound: Nikos Ahladis * Production designer: Marilena Aravantinou * Producer: André Lapprand * Production: CMS - Lambessis Films * Principal photography: May 24 - July 18, 1965 *Countries:

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

(

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Skiros Skyros ( el, Σκύρος, ), in some historical contexts Romanization of Greek, Latinized Scyros ( grc, Σκῦρος, ), is an island in Greece, the southernmost of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC a ...

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Cast

as Francesco Montelepre *

as Anna * Jenny Karezi as Carla * Spýros Fokás as Navarra *

as Rizzardi *

Lucien Bodard Lucien Bodard (9 January 1914 – 2 March 1998) was a French reporter and writer on events in Asia. Life Bodard was born on January 9, 1914, in Chongqing (central China) to the French consul Albert Bodard, who was stationed several years in Chi ...

as Marcopoulos

Soundtrack

*EP, ''Une balle au cœur'',

Barclay Records Barclay is a French record company and label founded by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Eddie Barclay was a bandleader, pianist, producer, and nightclub owner. With his wife, Nicole, who was the vocalist in his band, he started Barclay. The catalogue inc ...

(70 960 M), France, 1966. **A 1: "Générique" (

) - 3:00 **A 2: "La Balle au cœur" (Mikis Theodorakis) - 1:32 **B 1: "Kaimos" (Christodoulou / Mikis Theodorakis / sung by Jenny Karezi) - 2:30 **B 2: "Naha dio kheria dio pathia" (Livaditis / Mikis Theodorakis / sung by Jenny Karézi) - 2:58

DVD release

In 2020, the film was restored by Cosmodigital for La Traverse with the support of CNC. It was released on Region 2 DVD in March 2020 by Les Éditions de l'Oeil.

External links

* 1966 films Films scored by Mikis Theodorakis French drama films 1960s French-language films Greek drama films 1960s French films {{1960s-France-film-stub