''Un flic'' ( en, A Cop; also known as ''Dirty Money'') is a 1972

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 combin ...

, the last directed by

Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Pierre Melville (; born Jean-Pierre Grumbach; 20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973) was a French filmmaker and actor. Among his films are ''Le Silence de la mer'' (1949), '' Bob le flambeur'' (1956), ''Le Doulos'' (1962), '' Le Samouraï'' (19 ...

. It stars

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 ...

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

and

Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as '' The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', '' Body Heat'', the first three ...

. Delon had previously worked with Melville on '' Le Samouraï'' (1967) and '' Le Cercle Rouge'' (1970), playing the role of a criminal. In ''Un Flic'', Delon's role is reversed. He plays the cop, Édouard Coleman, in pursuit of Simon, a notorious Paris thief who is very hard to pin down.

Plot

The movie opens with a quote from Eugène-François Vidocq: "The only feelings mankind has ever inspired in policemen are those of indifference and derision..." Following a raid on a bank in a seaside town, four Parisian gangsters flee after a cashier sets off the alarm with only part of the loot and with one of the men, Marc Albouis, wounded by the cashier, who Marc then shoots dead. They put Marc in a private clinic and disperse. Their leader, Simon, owns a nightclub that is visited regularly by police detective Coleman to keep an eye on Simon and pick up information. Coleman also hopes to see the beautiful Cathy, who is Simon's mistress but spends occasional afternoons with Coleman in a hotel room. Fearing police will find and question Marc, Simon sends Cathy into the clinic dressed as a nurse to give the dying man a fatal

air embolism An air embolism, also known as a gas embolism, is a blood vessel blockage caused by one or more bubbles of air or other gas in the circulatory system. Air can be introduced into the circulation during surgical procedures, lung over-expansion ...

after an attempt to take him away fails. Simon's next project is to steal a large quantity of heroin being transported out of France by a rival gang on the night express from Paris to Lisbon. From a helicopter, he is lowered onto the speeding train in the empty countryside south of Bordeaux, breaks into the courier's sleeping compartment, neutralizes him with chloroform, and is successfully winched up with the drugs. Knowing the dead Marc was friends with Louis Costa, Coleman arrests him and gets him to reveal the names of his accomplices. Coleman goes to the club and questions Simon, who denies he knows Marc or Louis. Simon immediately telephones the fourth member of the gang, Paul, to warn him, but the police arrive before he can flee and Paul shoots himself. Simon hides out in a hotel and rings Cathy to pick him up. However, police have tapped Cathy's phone and, as Simon emerges from the hotel carrying an attaché case full of heroin, the waiting Coleman draws a gun and challenges him. As Simon seems to be reaching inside his coat for a gun, Coleman shoots him dead while Cathy watches helplessly from her car. However, when Coleman inspects Simon's body, he finds he had no gun, leading him to think it was

suicide by cop Suicide by cop or suicide by police is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately behaves in a threatening manner, with intent to provoke a lethal response from a public safety or law enforcement officer. Overview There are ...

. Coleman is called away on another case, leaving a pensive Cathy alone. The film ends with a prolonged shot on Coleman's face as he drives away.

Cast and crew

as Commissaire Edouard Coleman *

as Simon *

as Cathy *

Riccardo Cucciolla Riccardo Cucciolla (5 September 1924 – 17 September 1999) was an Italian actor and voice actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1953 and 1999. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival for the film '' Sacco & Vanzetti' ...

as Paul Weber * Michael Conrad as Louis Costa *

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 Morand *

Simone Valère Simone Valère (2 August 1923 – 11 November 2010) was a French actress. She appeared in more than forty films from 1941 to 1993. Filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valere, Simone 1923 births 2010 deaths Actresses from Pa ...

as Paul's Wife *

André Pousse André Pousse (20 October 1919 – 9 September 2005) was a noted French actor and, in his youth, also a notable cyclist. Biography While primarily known as a leading French actor, André Pousse began his professional career as a cyclist (prima ...

as Marc Albouis *

Jean Desailly Jean Desailly (24 August 1920 – 11 June 2008) was a French actor. He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1942 to 1946, and later participated in about 90 movies. Life and career Desailly studied at the École nationale supérieure des ...

as Distinguished Gentleman Who Was Robbed of A Statue * Valérie Wilson as Gaby * Henri Marteau as Police Officer Instructor of Shooting The crew included Sophie Tati (editing department) and Pierre Tati (second assistant director), the daughter and son of

Jacques Tati Jacques Tati (; born Jacques Tatischeff, ; 9 October 1907 – 5 November 1982) was a French mime, film-maker, actor and screenwriter. In an ''Entertainment Weekly'' poll of the Greatest Movie Directors, he was voted the 46th greatest of all time ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flic, Un 1972 films French crime thriller films 1970s French-language films 1970s crime thriller films French heist films French neo-noir films Police detective films Films directed by Jean-Pierre Melville Films produced by Robert Dorfmann Films scored by Michel Colombier 1970s heist films 1970s French films