''Three Men to Kill'' (French: ''Trois hommes à abattre'') is a French

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

released in 1980, directed by

Jacques Deray Jacques Deray (born Jacques Desrayaud; 19 February 1929 – 9 August 2003) was a French film director and screenwriter. Deray is prominently known for directing many crime and thriller films. Biography Born Jacques Desrayaud in Lyon, France, in 1 ...

, starring

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...

with

Dalila Di Lazzaro Dalila Di Lazzaro (born 29 January 1953) is an Italian model, actress and writer. Life and career Born in Udine, Di Lazzaro started as a fashion model and was the subject of famous photographers such as Andy Warhol. She then gained attention i ...

. The screenplay is written by Jacques Deray, Alain Delon and

Christopher Frank Christopher Frank (5 December 1942, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, UK – 19 November 1993, Paris, France) was a British-born French writer, screenwriter, and film director. He won the 1972 Prix Renaudot for his novel ''La Nuit américaine'' th ...

based on the novel ''Le Petit Bleu de la côte ouest'' by

Jean-Patrick Manchette Jean-Patrick Manchette (19 December 1942, Marseille – 3 June 1995, Paris) was a French crime novelist credited with reinventing and reinvigorating the genre. He wrote ten short novels in the seventies and early eighties, and is widely recognized ...

. The story is about Michel Gerfaut (Delon), charming professional card player who out of nowhere becomes involved in some retribution between weapon traders of high level. With 2,194,795 tickets sold, the film ranked 16th at the French box-office in 1980. ''Three Men to Kill'' is the first film of a group of popular films released in the 1980s and starring Alain Delon that share a visual and narrative style, followed by ''

For a Cop's Hide ''Pour la peau d'un flic'' (English: ''For a Cop's Hide'') is a 1981 French crime-thriller film starring and directed by Alain Delon. It was Delon's directorial debut. It had admissions of 2,377,084 in France.Le battant ''Le Battant'' is a 1983 French crime thriller film starring and directed by Alain Delon. It recorded admissions of 1,935,094 in France. Plot Jacques Darnay is released from prison after eight years and tries to recover a cache of stolen diamonds ...

'' (1983).

Synopsis

Michel Gerfaut is a handsome middle-aged man who lives in Paris, France. He has a beautiful girlfriend called Béa and earns his living as a professional poker player. One night, as he is on his way to yet another card game, he comes across a car accident. Noticing that the driver of the crashed car is still alive, he brings him to the hospital. A newspaper article later reveals that the man, who was actually a high-ranking functionary, has died, and that two of his colleagues were killed the same night (the titular ''three men to kill''). The men were assassinated as they were about to

blow the whistle ''Blow the Whistle'' is the sixteenth studio album by the American rapper Too Short. It was released on August 29, 2006, via Jive Records. It features artists such as Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Tha Dogg Pound, will.i.am, Mistah F.A.B. and David Banne ...

on a deal involving faulty guided missiles. Gerfaut is followed by two hitmen who saw him at the crash site and mistakenly assumed that he is a mercenary hired by competing armament manufacturers to sabotage the deal. After several attempts on the lives of him and his girlfriend are made, Gerfaut flees and follows a series of clues that eventually lead him to the head of the conspiracy, an arms dealer named Emmerich. Emmerich doesn't believe Gerfaut's claims of innocence and becomes furious, causing himself a fatal heart attack. Emmerich's assistant then offers Gerfaut a job as his enforcer, but Gerfaut refuses and walks away, believing everything to be over. The next day, Gerfaut and his girlfriend are seen having a walk in Paris where another pair of hitman ambushes and shoots Gerfaut.

Cast

as Michel Gerfaut *

as Béa *

Michel Auclair Michel Auclair (born Vladimir Vujović, sr-cyr, Владимир Вујовић; 14 September 1922 – 7 January 1988) was an actor of Serbian and French ancestry, known best for his roles in French cinema. Auclair was born to a Serbian fathe ...

as Leprince *

Pierre Dux Pierre Dux (21 October 1908 – 1 December 1990) was a French stage director, stage actor, and film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1932 and 1990. Filmography References External links * * 1908 births 1990 deaths Burials ...

as Emmerich *

Pascale Roberts Pascale is a common Francophone given name, the feminine of the name Pascal. The same spelling is also an Italian form of the masculine name ''Pascal'', and an Italian surname derived from the given name. Pascale derives from the Latin ''pas ...

as Mrs Borel *

Simone Renant Simone Renant (19 March 1911 – 29 March 2004) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1934 and 1983. She was born in Amiens, France and died in Garches, France. Partial filmography * ''La folle nuit'' (1932 ...

as Mrs Gerfaut *

Lyne Chardonnet Lyne Catherine Jeanne Chardonnet (5 May 1943 – 11 December 1980) was a French actress. She appeared in more than forty films from 1966 to 1981. Filmography References External links * 1943 births 1980 deaths French film act ...

as nurse *

Jean-Pierre Darras Jean-Pierre Darras (1927–1999) was a French actor. Filmography 1927 births 1999 deaths Deaths from cancer in France French film directors French monarchists Male actors from Paris People from Val-de-Marne French male film actors ...

as Chocard *

Bernard Le Coq Bernard Le Coq (born 25 September 1950) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than one hundred and fifty films since 1967. His first big role Bernard Le Coq has played as Annie Girardot's son and Claude Jade's brother in the family dra ...

as Gassowitz *

François Perrot François Perrot (26 February 1924 – 20 January 2019)André Falcon André Falcon (28 November 1924 – 22 July 2009) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1954 to 2008. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon, Andre 1924 births 2009 deaths ...

as Jacques Mouzon *

Féodor Atkine Féodor Atkine is a French actor of Russian-Polish origin, born on 27 February 1948 in Paris. A screen performer, he has participated in numerous plays, films and television series in France and abroad. Life and career Féodor Atkine was born ...

as Leblanc * Daniel Breton as Carlo *

Christian Barbier Christian Barbier (28 June 1924 – 3 November 2009) was a French film and television actor. Barbier was born at Saint-Ouen, Seine (currently Seine-Saint-Denis), France. During his career (1964 to 1997), he specialized in drama rather t ...

as Liethard

Release and reception

The film was released in France on October 31, 1980. With 2,194,795 tickets sold, the film ranked 16th at the French box-office that year. It was Delon's most commercially successful film since '' Two Men in Town'' (1973). The Japanese distributors reportedly cut the finale where Delon is assassinated and thus gave the film a happy ending. (Which somewhat more closely resembles the ending of the novel). Pierre Murat wrote in ''Télérama'': "This well-made and efficient thriller by Jacques Deray, where Delon does the perfect Delon and where music plays one of the main roles, definitely has more than one trump card up its sleeve."

References

External links

* {{Jacques Deray 1980 films 1980s crime thriller films Films directed by Jacques Deray Films based on French novels Films produced by Alain Delon French crime films French neo-noir films Films scored by Claude Bolling Films set in Paris Films about assassinations 1980s French films