À toi de faire... mignonne aka Your Turn, Darling (1963) Quasi Noir that descends down into slapstick farce

Directed by Bernard Borderie. 

Screenplay was written by Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon and Bernard Borderie with additional dialog by Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon and based on a novel by Peter Cheyney. Cinematography was by Henri Persin, and Music was by Paul Misraki.

The film stars Eddie Constantine as Lemmy Caution, Gaia Germani as Geraldine, Guy Delorme as Dr. Whitaker, Christiane Minazzoli as Carlotta, Philippe Lemaire as Pranzetti/Henri Grant, Noël Roquevert as Walker  Caution's superior, and Elga Andersen as Valeri Pontiac/Montana.

Eddie Constantine as Lemmy Caution

 Elga Andersen as Valeri Pontiac/Montana

Gaia Germani as Geraldine, and Philippe Lemaire as Pranzetti/Henri Grant

Christiane Minazzoli as Carlotta

The Story

New York. The secretary of Dr. Whitaker who is in actuality an undercover FBI agent goes into his laboratory and discovers the place ransacked. Before she can notify the FBI or call the police she is gunned down. 

The police discover the body and that Dr. Whitaker has vanished along with all his notes along with the secret formula he was working on. The FBI assigns Lemmy Caution to the case. Lemmy in the detritus of the office finds a photograph of Dr. Whitaker's Carlotta. 

The clues they pick up indicate that Carlotta will be in Paris for a art gallery show. Lemmy flies to Paris. 

On the plane he meets a woman, Valerie Pontiac, they make small talk. Valeri is part of the kidnapping plot. 

Valerie Pontiac catching Lemmy's eye

While Lemmy is meeting with his contact Henri Grant at the airport lounge he is interrupted by a waiter who explains that Valerie needs to speak with him for a moment. She is waiting in her Caddy outside the lounge. 

Lemmy meets Grant/Pranzetti

Lemmy, thinking maybe he is going to score, excuses himself and tells his contact he'll be right back. As soon as Lemmy gets to the bottom of a stairway Valerie waves from the Caddy, a signal, and he is attacked and knocked out. His official papers and FBI identification are stolen.

Lemmy is helped into his room by Grant. Lemmy lays down on the bed and tells Grant to wake him at noon. As soon as Grant leaves Lemmy grabs his coat and is out the door. 

Lemmy is helped into his room by Grant. Lemmy lays down on the bed and tells Grant to wake him at noon. As soon as Grant leaves Lemmy grabs his coat and is out the door. We next pick up Eddie's trail as he surprises the waiter who steered him into the ambush as he sleeps in his flat. 

Lemmy gets his information about the whereabouts of Valerie Pontiac whose real name is Montana and her connection to Grant who is in reality Pranzetti and Geraldine, The waiter after pulling a gun on Eddie gets dead. 

Montana's shower scene

Eddie heads to Montana's. He buys a bouquet of flowers and has it delivered to her door. When she opens the door for the delivery boy Lemmy comes through it. Then he confronts her, and also finds Pranzett eavesdropping from the next room. While he begins to shake the down of the two Pranzetti"s goon coming in quietly  through the door and saps Lemmy. 

Lemmy comes to trussed up like a roast beef in a wicker trunk. Montana is gleefully fliting around him snapping photos of the great Lemmy Caution. Souvenirs. She grabs a hypodermic, waves it, and tells him she's going to inject him. Lemmy stalls her by asking her if Pranzetti went to see Geraldine..

Lemmy comes to trussed up like a roast beef in a wicker trunk. Montana is gleefully fliting around him snapping photos of the great Lemmy Caution. Souvenirs. She grabs a hypodermic, waves it, and tells him she's going to inject him. Lemmy stalls her by asking her if Pranzetti went to see Geraldine..

Montana is distracted enough by her jealousy and rising anger that she passes too close to the foot of the trunk. Lemmy is able to lift up his trussed legs, and kick Montana in the stomach. The force of the kick is strong enough to fling Montana back into a wall slamming her head. It knocks her out. 

Montana knocked out

Pranzetti and Geraldine are having a celebratory love fest at her hotel. There's a knock at the door. When they open the door there sits the very wicker trunk that should have the body of Lemmy Caution. Pranzetti is shocked. They grab the trunk and drag it into the room. When they open it, on top is the large bouquet of flowers, below that is the trussed up and very angry Montana. 

When Pransetti cuts her loose, she immediately gets into a hair pulling girl fight with Geraldine while Pransetti in-effectually tries to stop them. Its funny, but it also changes the overall perception of the film.

Girl Fight

Though I still have not seen the fourth Caution flick Diamond Machine (seams to have disappeared from the face of the earth) nor the 1962 Ladies’ Man (which I've only found  in French), this film, is the first where, for me, the Borderie-Constantine collaboration starts to waver from the slightly tongue in cheek to a more broadly comedic slant and it jumps the shark a bit. A girl fight here between Montana and Geraldine, a second one later between Geraldine and Carlotta. Then Lemmy and Carlotta also have a humorous tussel. 

Eddie Constantine breaking the fourth wall

We also have Lemmy using an obviously James Bond-ish influenced tracking gadget and guzzling constantly from a bottle in a helicopter. Finally, to top it all off the denouement fizzles out into an overlong slapstick brawl in appropriately, a cheese factory. Still watchable but disappointing, a 6/10.

At least the Lemmy Caution character as a headliner went out in a true masterpiece in 1965 with the unique  Detective-SyFy mashup Alphaville.  You an skip this one, only for Lemmy Caution completests.

Peter Cheyney's Lemmy Caution Novels

This Man Is Dangerous (1936)

Dames Don't Care (1937)

Poison Ivy (1937)

Can Ladies Kill? (1938)

Don't Get Me Wrong (1939)

You'd Be Surprised (1940)

Your Deal, My Lovely (1941)

Never a Dull Moment (1942)

You Can Always Duck (1943)

I'll Say She Does! (1945)

The Lemmy  Caution Films

LA MOME VERT DES GRIS (aka “The Gun Moll” and “Poison Ivy”)  (1953) Based on the Lemmy Caution novel Poison Ivy 1937

CET HOMME EST DANGEROUS (aka “This Man is Dangerous”) (1953) Based on the Lemy Caution novel This Man Is Dangerous 1936

LES FEMMES S’EN BALANCENT (aka “Dames Get Along”) (1954) Based on the Lemmy Caution novel Dames Don’t Care 1937

VOUS PIGEZ? (aka “Diamond Machine”) (1955) Based on the Lemmy Caution novel Don’t Get Me Wrong 1939

COMMENT QU’ELLE EST! (aka “What a Girl!”aka "Women Are Like That") (1960) Based on the Lemmy Caution novel I’ll Say She Does! 1945

ÇA VA ÊTRE TA FÊTE (1960) Based on characters created by Peter Cheyney

LEMMY POUR LES DAMES (aka “Ladies’ Man) (1962( Based on characters created by Peter Cheyney 

À TOI DE FAIRE, MIGNONNE (aka Your Turn, Darling”) Based on Your Deal, My Lovely (1941)

ALPHAVILLE  (aka “Une etrange Aventure de Lemmy Caution,” “Alphaville: A Strange Case of Lemmy Caution” and “Tarzan Vs. IBM”) Based on characters created by Peter Cheyney

ALLEMAGNE ANNÉE 90 NEUF ZÉRO (1991; aka “Germany Year 90 Nine Zero”) Based on characters created by Peter Cheyney