France |1947 | b&w | 106 mins | dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot, with Louis Jouvet, Suzy Delaire, Bernard Blier | cert. 12A | in French with English subtitles

A superior noirish thriller starring Louis Jouvet as the irascible, world-weary Inspector Antoine unravelling a tangle of lies and deceit in a murder investigation.

France | 1960 | col | 140 mins | dir. Jean-Pierre Melville, with Alain Delon, Yves Montand, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonte | cert. 15 | in French with English subtitles

In Melville's moody French noir, Alain Delon stars as Corey, a cool, aristocratic thief, released from prison on the same day that Vogel, a murderer, escapes from the custody of Mattei, a cat-loving police superintendent. Corey robs Rico, his mob boss, then enlists Vogel and an ex-police sharpshooter, Jansen, in a jewel heist. While Corey is harried by the vengeful Rico, Mattei pressures Santi, a nightclub owner and pimp, to help him trap the thieves. Over everything hangs the judgment of the police chief, that every man is guilty.

France | 1976 | col | 125 mins | dir. Alain Corneau | with Yves Montand, François Périer, Simone Signoret | cert. tbc | in French with English subtitles

Orléans police inspector Marc Ferrot leads a focused, solitary existence. With no family and few friends, he devotes himself to his work and his interest in firearms. One night, whilst snaring a petty criminal, he encounters a woman, Sylvia, for whom he develops an immediate fascination. Ferrot takes Sylvia as his lover, not realising that she is also having an affair with his immediate superior, Commissaire Ganay. When he learns that Sylvia is deceiving him, Ganay kills her in a moment of passion.

France | 1962 | 108 mins | b&w | dir. Jean-Pierre Melville, with Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani, Michel Piccoli | cert. 12A | in French with English subtitles

Appropriately, in a film devoted to the principle of duplicity, Melville teases the spectator by reproducing the police station from Mamoulian's City Streets, while his Paris features American lamp-posts, call-boxes and subway entrances. At the heart of this ambiguous world is Silien, by repute a professional informer, who plays a dangerous game by keeping up his friendship with both a policeman and a burglar.

France | 1984 | col | 107 mins | dir. Claude Zidi, with Thierry Lhermitte, Philippe Noiret, Jacques Frantz | cert. tbc | in French with English subtitles

René is a 'ripou,' a rotten cop who makes ends meet by accepting bribes, presents and free drinks from the people he should be putting in jail. When his partner retires, he must team up with François, a young police school graduate with a righteous attitude. He is hard to break and René has no choice but to trick him.