Once a Thief

Eddie is out of prison and living in San Francisco with his wife and daughter. He works on a fishing boat and is trying to build a decent life. But a policeman, Vido, will not let go of him over something years earlier; he goes to every place Eddie works and tells the employer who he is, and Eddie is dismissed. Meanwhile his brother Walter turns up with a robbery. When Eddie has no other option he takes it. Ralph Nelson directs. Alain Delon plays Eddie, Ann-Margret his wife, Van Heflin the policeman and Jack Palance plays Walter. It is among the first films Delon made in America; he was a large star in France and his Hollywood period was short. The film is in black and white and was shot on location in San Francisco; the city is shown not as a sight but with its working and poor face. The subject is not crime but a mark. Eddie does nothing and simply cannot hold on anywhere because of his past; the film shows that step by step. It keeps to the shape of noir with a tone close to social drama; the violence is held for the end. It attracted little interest on release and was forgotten for a long time. Who it is for: viewers who like American noir of the sixties and Alain Delon. Who it is not for: the pace is slow, the plot is formulaic, and the ending goes where it is expected.