Taking place during a single evening when a thunderstorm that “never breaks” into rain symbolizes the impending doom that bears down on an unusual dinner party, Henri Decoin’s Bonnes à tuer (US: One Step to Eternity) stars Michael Auclair as a blindly ambitious sociopath living on the edge, literally and figuratively, around the four women in his life. Having just purchased an opulent penthouse on the Champs-Élysées (“It’s a powerful feeling to rise above a city”), François Roques (Auclair) quickly learns that the balcony’s railing is loose and will give way at the slightest push. Having this “accidental” murder weapon in hand, Roques plans a housewarming dinner party on the balcony with just four guests: kind-hearted first wife Constance Andrieux (Danielle Darrieux); two-timing, blackmailing second wife Vera Volpone (Corinne Calvet) from whom he is currently seeking a divorce; current mistress and co-conspirator Maggy Lang (Miriam Di San Servolo); and his fiancée Cecile Germain-Thomas (Lyla Rocco), who is pregnant by another man. We have no idea which of the women is Roques’ prey for the evening, but once they begin departing, one by one, the remaining woman’s fate becomes clear. The film is no masterwork and often has the pacing of a stage play, but Decoin uses flashbacks very effectively to shake up the narrative and creates an ominous tone that pushes each woman to her emotional limits.