''Without Apparent Motive'' (french: Sans mobile apparent) is a 1971 French thriller film directed by

Philippe Labro Philippe Labro (born 27 August 1936) is a French author, journalist and film director. He has worked for RTL, ''Paris Match'', TF1 and Antenne 2. He is a laureate of the Prix Interallié, a French literary distinction founded in 1930, which ...

and adapted from the 1963 novel ''Ten Plus One'' by

Ed McBain Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film '' Blackb ...

. Set in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, it tells the story of a police detective faced with a series of unexplained killings of apparently unconnected people by a mystery sniper.

Plot

Unmarried police detective Carella sees Jocelyne, a sexy old flame who is being trailed by an Englishman. Any thoughts of taking up with her again are put aside because he has to investigate the assassination by a single shot from a long-range 0.22 rifle of Forest, a prominent local businessman. The widow is no help but the man's stepdaughter Sandra mentions an associate Barroyer, who later that day is killed in exactly the same way. Sandra also finds her stepfather's secret diary, which among many trysts recorded a steamy night with Jocelyne. Next day, Carella asks Jocelyne round to his flat and she is shot dead on the steps outside. He has learned that both Forest and Barroyer smuggled money through an astrologer and drug dealer called Kleinberg, who is shot later that day. After four deaths in two days, Carella's boss is frantic. Though the police have linked the victims to money laundering, narcotics and prostitution, nothing adds up to a motive for murdering them. Sandra gives them a big clue, as she knows two men who were at university with the four victims, one is a TV presenter called Sabirnou and the other a theatre director called Palombo. Both are brought in for questioning and a picture emerges. With two women whose present married names are unknown, as students all were in the cast of a play together. Why this should lead to their deaths remains unknown until next day one of the two unknown women, Hélène, approaches the police. She reveals to Carella that the end of run party degenerated into a mass sex orgy and that when Juliette, the other unknown woman, refused to join in she was gang raped. It remains to find Juliette, which happens next day when her husband rings the police. Arriving to take her in for questioning, Carella is shot at by a long-range rifle and, returning fire, he wounds the sniper. When he rushes into the building, he finds his assailant was her English husband, who has been systematically tracking down and killing all those involved in her rape.

Cast

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

as Stéphane Carella *

Carla Gravina Carla Gravina (born 5 August 1941) is an Italian actress and politician. She received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her role in '' La terrazza'' (1980). Her other notable roles were in ''Love and Chatter'' (1957), '' Esterina ...

as Jocelyne Rocca *

Laura Antonelli Laura Antonelli ( Antonaz; 28 November 1941 – 22 June 2015) was an Italian film actress who appeared in 45 films between 1964 and 1991. Early years Antonelli was born Laura Antonaz in Pola, Kingdom of Italy (in Croatian, Pula), former cap ...

as Juliette Vaudreuil *

Jean-Pierre Marielle Jean-Pierre Marielle (12 April 1932 – 24 April 2019) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films in which he played very diverse roles, from a banal citizen (''Les Galettes de Pont-Aven''), to a World War II hero (''Les Milles ...

as Perry Rupert Foote *

Dominique Sanda Dominique Marie-Françoise Renée Varaigne (born 11 March 1951), professionally known as Dominique Sanda, is a French actress and former fashion model. Life and career Sanda was born in Paris, to Lucienne (née Pichon) and Gérard Varaigne. She ...

as Sandra Forest *

Sacha Distel Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French singer, guitarist, songwriter and actor who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, " Scoubidou" ...

as Julien Sabirnou *

Stéphane Audran Stéphane Audran (born Colette Suzanne Dacheville; 8 November 1932 – 27 March 2018) was a French actress. She was known for her performances in award-winning films such as ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (1972) and ''Babette's Feast'' ...

as Hélène Vallée *

Paul Crauchet Paul Crauchet (14 July 1920 – 19 December 2012) was a French actor. Biography As a young man interested in aviation and rugby, Paul Crauchet discovered a passion for the theatre at the age of 23. He settled in Paris in 1945, he studied un ...

as Francis Palombo *

Erich Segal Erich Wolf Segal (June 16, 1937January 17, 2010) was an American author, screenwriter, educator, and classicist who wrote the bestselling novel ''Love Story'' (1970) and its hit film adaptation. Early life and education Born and raised in a J ...

as Hans Kleinberg

Writing

The screenplay was adapted by

, Jacques Lanzmann, and Vincenzo Labella, from ''Ten Plus One'', a police procedural novel by

. Detective Steve Carella in Ed McBain's novel was renamed Stéphane Carella in the French version.

Reception

''TV Guide'' called it "a deft thriller in the hardboiled tradition of Raymond Chandler and

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

", and said that "Labro slowly builds up a feeling of impending doom, holding the mystery's solution until the very end and maintaining a consistent mood."

References

External links

* {{Ed McBain 1970s thriller films French thriller films French serial killer films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films based on novels by Ed McBain Films set on the French Riviera Rape and revenge films 1970s French films