A sort of perverse love triangle between a good-looking hustler, a gorgeous blond, and the sin of greed, Henry Verneuil’s Une manche et la belle (US: A Kiss For a Killer) exposes that cold talent some human beings have for renouncing morality and authenticity for the sake of acquiring wealth. Philippe Delarouche (Henri Vidal) is a banker who sees his mastery of seduction as a more efficient path to riches than the capital markets; after a brief courtship of his wealthy client Betty Farnwell (Isa Miranda), the film’s only redeemable character, he marries her but can’t bring himself to express any real affection toward her. Betty’s younger, sexier secretary Eva Dollan (Mylène Demongeot), however, is a different story, and soon Philippe and Eva are plotting with and against each other for control of the Farnwell estate. The narrative premise is perhaps the most common in all of noir, but Verneuil executes admirably, shooting an extended honeymoon sequence on-location in gorgeous Venice, choreographing a thrilling car crash stunt (which, admittedly, begs the question: why didn’t she employ a chauffeur?), and utilizing Paul Durand’s slowly thumping, trance-like score to beautiful, suspenseful effect.