Once a Thief (1965)

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Siskoid
Once a Thief is a nice little jazz noir with a great, immersive opener, and a well-paced, fiasco-driven, chilling ending. It's just what's in between that's a little more rote. And yet, there's a lot to like in the body of the film too. Alain Delon is an ex-con whose life is regularly troubled by this one cop (Van Heflin) who runs him in for crimes he didn't commit. It's the old story where a guy tries to get his life in order, but the system keeps dragging him back down into crime. That, and his ne'er-do-well brother (Jack Palance) and his scheme to rob a place. Once a thief, always a thief, but the other expression, honor among thieves, doesn't hold, and so it's all heading toward heartache like a freight train. Deep, oily black and white cinematography gives the picture a lustrous look, and the jazz soundtrack feels perfect for a story where the characters are improvising themselves into early graves. Ann-Margaret's a bit too melodramatic for my tastes as Delon's wife, but that's my only complaint. 4 years 2 months ago