As any fan of French noir cinema knows, Jean-Pierre Melville
was not alone in re-inventing the French crime film, or policier. To celebrate, the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre presents “Crooks in Clover: Noir, French Style,” running October 19 through 28.

Like the American West
Coast jazz scene of the 1950s, the French crime film was the very definition
of cool — a quicksilver world of silent killers and speeding
Citroens. Two spellbinding weeks of mystery and murder from the
French masters, including many hard-to-see gems and 11 films not on DVD,
kick off on October 19 with a double bill consisting of Jacques Deray’s The Swimming
Pool (1969) and Rene Clement’s Joy House (1964), the latter starring Alain Delon as a callous
young card shark on the run from New York
gangsters.

Other titles include Costa-Gavras’ ultra-rare debut film, The Sleeping Car Murder, Claude
Chabrol’s The Champagne Murders, Melville’s Second Breath, Alain Corneau’s Serie Noire and Choice of Arms and Yves Allegret’s Riptide, among others. Tickets are available through
Fandango.com, but for more details, phone (323) 466-FILM, or visit the Cinematheque’s eponymous
Web site by clicking here.