The ending drags on ,bit as it was his last movie,Decoin probably wanted to prolong the agony. In its first part ,the movie is some kind of murder mystery a la Conan Doyle then becomes an action-packed a bit tong in chick plot,with a lot of nods to James Bond (a secretary ,model of Monneypenny,and a special watch)and to the yellow peril (the two gang leaders are a poor man's Fu Manchu and daughter).The lethal weapon which is the subject of the plot is quickly forgotten and when it's over,you will probably have forgotten why those people were fighting. Besides,he does not play Nick Carter but the private eye's son!The film begins with the glorious story of the late papa:he helped Sarah Bernhardt,and was taught to shoot by Buffalo Bill. As the precedent user wrote,Constantine is too old for the part of Nick Carter and he is mostly remembered for his role of Lemmy Caution in Godard's notorious 'Alphaville'. It was Henri Decoin's last movie and ,although it's a far cry from his forties best ,it's less embarrassing than his colleagues Pierre Chenal's and Henri Calef's swan songs.
