To Kill a Cop aka Pour la peau d'un flic (1981) A French P.I.

"Not a bad first effort"(Noirsville)

Directed by Alain Delon (Purple Noon, Rocco and His Brothers, The Samurai). 

Written by Alain Delon and Christopher Frank and based on the novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette. 

Cinematography was by Jean Tournier, 

Soundtracks - Bensonhurst Blues performed by Oscar Benton, Don't Make my Brown Eyes Blue performed by Crystal Gayle, The Dancing Bumble Bee/Bumble Boogie performed by Neil Diamond, Say Maybe performed by Neil Diamond, Petite Fleur music by Sidney Bechet

The film stars Alain Delon (Purple Noon, Le samouraï, Any Number Can Win, Once A Thief, The Sicilian Clan, Le cercle rouge, Un flic) as Choucas, Anne Parillaud (La Femme Nikita, Map of the Human Heart) as Charlotte. 

Alain Delon as Choucas and Michel Auclair as Tarpon / Dragon

Anne Parillaud as Charlotte

With Michel Auclair (Beauty And The Beast, The day of The Jackal) as Tapon / Haymann, Daniel Ceccaldi (Un témoin dans la ville, That Man from Rio) as Coccioli. 

Daniel Ceccaldi as Coccioli

And also with Jean-Pierre Darras as Commissaire Chauffard, Xavier Depraz as Kasper, Jacques Rispal as Professeur Bachhoffer, Gérard Hérold as Pradier (as Gerard Herold), Pierre Belot as Jude, le pharmacien, and Annick Alane as Isabelle Pigot. 

Story

Paris 

An ex French police detective Choucas (Delon) of the Choucas & Tarpon Detective agency is practicing his shooting skills at one of the Paris Police firing ranges maybe it was the new (1980) Rungis shooting range (Parc Sud-ST). 

Firing Range Sequence

Choucas can empty a clip accurately in six seconds. Some officers still on active duty razz him about carrying a firearm. He ignores them and puts his automatic and clips in a half moon shaped zippered leather carrying bag, leaves the firing range on his 1981 Kawasaki Z 750 L1 and scoots through the streets of Paris to his office. 

Here we get some great establishing shot footage of a trip through the streets of Paris.  The Choucas & Tarpon offices are on Rue de l'Abbé Gillet. Choucas has an apartment that is connected to the suite.

A Smoggy Paris

At the office we meet his secretary Charlotte (Parillaud). Charlotte tells Choucas that he has a client in the office. Isabel Pigot wants Choucas to investigate her daughter Martha's unexplained disappearance. Martha's been gone a month. 

Choucas gets buzzed by Charlotte telling him that there's a police officer there to see him . It's Inspector Coccioli who tells him to take the case and her money but tell her that his investigation found no results. Choucas tells him that he will decide what he'll do.

Back in the office with Mrs. Pigot, he asks to see a photograph of Martha. Mrs. Pigot tells Choucas that she  went to the police but they tried to convince her that she is a young woman and that maybe she went on a fling with a man. She tells Choucas that Martha worked with children for the Institute for the Blind. Choucas asks if Martha was blind. Mrs. Pigot affirms and tells Choucas that it was unlikely that Martha would leave because they are very close. On the retainer check Choucas tells Mrs. Pigot to make it out payable to his partner Tarpon.

Back in the office with Mrs. Pigot, he asks to see a photograph of Martha. Mrs. Pigot tells Choucas that she  went to the police but they tried to convince her that she is a young woman and that maybe she went on a fling with a man. She tells Choucas that Martha worked with children for the Institute for the Blind. Choucas asks if Martha was blind. Mrs. Pigot affirms and tells Choucas that it was unlikely that Martha would leave because they are very close. On the retainer check Choucas tells Mrs. Pigot to make it out payable to his partner Tarpon.

Here we get the first audio of Oscar Benton's Bensonhurst Blues as we observe Choucas on another case for a druggist who suspects one of his employees Perez of underhanded doings. Choucas calls the druggist and tells him he's in place at the corner phone booth. 

The druggist tells Perez that he can go for the day. The employee exits the drugstore and Choucas follows him on the Kawasaki. Perez end up in a poker game at a club. Choucas orders a drink sits and observes. It's a long game, Perez wins.

Perez cashing in

there's a funny sequence between Choucas and the bartender

Choucas reports to the druggist telling him what he found. The druggist is practicing tennis returns. Choucas tells him that there's no proof that Perez is playing with pharmacy money, but he tells the pharmacist that he thinks somethings off because Perez seemed to be winning too easily. 

When Choucas gets back to the his office / apartment he gets a call. A voice tells him that he's coming up. 

Choucas cautiously blocks the door partway with his foot, then lets the man in. The man tells him that his "friend" got involved with Martha Pigot and when he was called out of the country he took her with him. When Choucas asks him to describe Pigot the man hesitates, he can't answer, but he produces a letter supposedly from Martha that is supposed to explain it all. However, the letter is in braille. 

The phone rings Choucas picks it up. It's Isabel Pigot, she needs to see him urgently, they make arrangements to meet in a half hour at the Place du Trocadero. Choucas hangs up. 

The guy in the office tells him that the police got the same letter and that the case is closed. Choucas picks up the phone and tells the guy he's calling the police. The guy makes a run for the door but Choucas stops him, however while they are struggling at the door. 

It opens and a arm with a gun in hand cracks Choucas in the back of his head knocking him to his knees. The two escape. Something is really screwy with this Pigot Case.

It goes Noirsville when Mrs. Pigot is assassinated in front of Choucas eye's at the Place du Trocadero with a bullet thought the forehead. 

Then Charlotte is kidnapped bringing Choucas' silent partner Tarpon aka Haymann another ex cop out of his self imposed retirement onto the case.

Noirsville

This was Alain Delon's first film as a director. I really liked the bridging sequences that featured Bensonhurst Blues setting a mood. The wrong way high speed car chase is very good I'm sure John Frankenheimer had to have seen this and homage-ed it in Ronin (1998).

Another good Detective Neo Noir, it should be better known. It's like an old "B" Noir with some great sequences, a fun watch. 7/10