Three Men to Kill

A professional poker player happens upon a badly injured man in a crashed car and takes him to the hospital, not knowing that the unfortunate gent had been the victim of an assassination attempt. The killers suspect that the dying man must have given out some incriminating information about them and their government employers and set out to make the gambler their next target.

Like a few other French thrillers before it, this film certainly owes some debt to Alfred Hitchcock with its story of an innocent man thrust into the middle of a dangerous situation where criminals try to hunt him down and kill him. It's not the most original of story-lines but this fast-paced film remains an enjoyable watch. There is enough action and incident punctuated through its run-time to ensure it never gets boring, such as an exciting car chase through the streets of Paris, a keyhole assassination, an attempted drowning on a crowded beach and a little bit of nudity courtesy of Italian actress Dalila Di Lazzaro who will be familiar to Euro genre fans for her roles in cult items such as Phenomena (1985). But it's really Alain Delon's movie ultimately. The role probably doesn't stretch him too much but he is quite a cool actor and holds things together pretty well I thought. On the whole, I found this to be a very enjoyable movie; it may not have brought anything especially new to the table but it did the job well enough for me.

A previous reviewer has referred to Alain Delon as an ' ageing pretty boy'. Time stops for no one of course but it takes more than just a pretty face to maintain a film career as long as his. Joseph Losey, who directed him in 'Monsieur Klein', remarked on his complex nature. This and his air of unpredictability makes him watchable whatever his material. Now in his eighties I am sure he looks back with pride on the films he made with Visconti, Antonioni, Clement, Melville, Verneuil and Cavalier.

It is probably best to draw a discreet veil over many of his later films although he excelled as Mr. Klein, was awarded a well-deserved Cesar for 'Notre Histoire' and played both Baron de Charlus in 'Swann in Love' and the title role in 'Retour de Casanova' despite being physically miscast in both.

So we come to 'Three Men to Kill'! The Michel Gefaut of Delon narrowly escapes death at the hands of assassins working for an organisation that seems to think he knows more about its shady dealings than he should but the tables are turned when the hunted becomes the hunter....... By far the most interesting characters are as always, the villains, played here by veterans Michel Auclair and Pierre Dux, who made their respective film debuts in 1946 and 1932! Both these actors convey so much by doing so little and Dux is gifted the best line: "Art is an indispensable futility." Subject for debate!

It is also nice to see fellow veteran Simone Renant in her last film role, as Delon's mother. Good performance from Christian Barbier as his buddy on the force.

The love interest is supplied by Dalila di Lazzaro who is adequate in the role.

Good production values, subtle score, utterly ludicrous plot and a customary car chase that has been done so much better.

Delon has produced and it is capably directed by Jacques Deray with whom Delon made nine films, of varying quality.

One should not approach this film with too many expectations for it is what it is: cinematic chewing gum.

This amazing French action thriller is purely French to me. A bit different in the story from the novel it is inspired from and written by the amazing and late Jean-Patrick Manchette, but the overall "message" could have perfectly been written by Manchette. The tale of a normal man in struggle for his life against the shadow forces, sent and monitored by the State Reason; a typical French scheme. One of the best Jacques Deray's films where Alain Delon is at his peak. The ending is delicious, so nasty, bittersweet, in an anti Hollywood style. Yves Boisset could have perfectly made it. No problem. A must see.

Thrilling and violent Alain Delon film , full of frantic action , intrigue , twists and turns . A mysterious man called Michel (Alain Delon) helps the victim of a car crash resulting in unexpected consequences , not realizing that the man has actually been gunned down . The henchmen who shot him are now after the man who helped him , in order to take down as a potential witness . Soon after , Michel joins his sweetheart (Dalila Di Lazzaro) , but our starring becomes involved into a twisted conspiracy . As the hoodlums are killing one by one in order to eliminate whatever in contact with him .

Nail-biting and moving French ¨Polar¨ with enjoyable acting by main star names , dealing with an innocent victim being mercilessly pursued after helping someone at a car crash . This is an intriguing film that contains noisy action , suspense , thrills , car chases and anything else . Alain Delon is nice in his usual manner playing as a card player who stumbles into an auto accident with fateful consequences and his gorgeous girlfriend performed by Dalila Di Lazzaro steals the spectacle by showing some nudism . Alain Delon sports his inimitable style while shots and kills ; as usual he combines action with dramatic skills . He plays splendidly the relentling man who's mercilessly hunted and is bent on taking his sweet vengeance on those who pursue him and bring war on the doorstep of elegant Paris and surroundings as Trouville , Calvados, and Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine. The highlights result to be the violent confrontation between Delon and enemies , as he acts as Charles Bronson-alike , as he exacts an implacable vendetta as a judge , jury and executioner ; furthermore , a suspenseful and surpring ending . Strong and agreeable secondary cast with some familar faces for French cinema lovers , such as : Michel Auclair , Jean-Pierre Darras , Bernard Le Coq and Feodor Atkine .

The technician team is first-class , as the musician Claude Bolling who composed an attractive soundtrack , including catching leitmotif and classic cameraman Jean Tournier , director Jacques Tournier's son, though being really necessary a perfect remastering because of the film copy is washed-out . The motion picture was professionally directed by Jacques Deray , but though works at times , it has some flaws , failures and gaps . Jacques Deray was a good craftsman , a French writer-director of commercially successful crime thrillers . He began as an actor in his late teens and from 1952 worked as assistant to several noted directors, including Luis Buñuel and Jules Dassin . Directed his first film in 1960 called Le gigolo . Following other notorious movies such as : Crime on a Summer Morning , Rififi in Tokyo , The Swimming Pool , Borsalino , To Skin a Spy , Le Marginal , Le Solitarie , Borsalino and Co. , Le Gang , Flic Story , among others . With 9 films, Jacques Deray is the director who has made the most films with Alain Delon and with Jean Paul Belmondo shot a lot , as well . And this 3 hommes à abattre (1980) rating : 6/10. The picture will appeal to Alain Delon fans and French thriller enthusiasts.

I liked this, some negative comments on this board notwithstanding... I thought the action scenes were not bad for an 80s movie. It's obviously an attempt to make a Hollywood-style action flick. While there were probably better action/thriller flicks made in the 80s, I can think of many, many worse ones! Having seen it for the first time when I was 18, the high point quite obviously was Dalila Di Lazzaro's chest, a memorable scene… :) I bought a VHS copy on Ebay a few years ago, in German – that's all I could find.

What was the car he drove at the beginning of the movie, by the way? A Lancia Gamma.

As for the comment about Delon wearing white socks with black pants, that actually was considered somewhat fashionable in Europe of the 80s…. :)