An earnest, charming, and hard-working crime film from minor French director Michel Deville, Une balle dans le canon (US: A Bullet in the Gun Barrel) stars Pierre Vaneck and Roger Hanin as Tony and Dick, friends and former soldiers who now co-own the barely surviving Tip-Tap nightclub. When a gangster called the Maltese (Don Ziegler) comes looking for the loot they “invested” in the club on his behalf, they need to raise cash urgently; the man from whom they bought the club — Pépère (Paul Frankeur) — proposes they collaborate on a heist of the gold bullion which is smuggled out of the country regularly by the father of Tony’s girlfriend, played by Mijanou Bardot, whose character is named Brigitte after her real-life celebrity sister. Also noteworthy are the candlelit musical performances by Hazel Scott, an American singer and civil rights activist who was working in Europe to escape McCarthyism. While some may find the ending unsatisfying, the journey getting there is an enjoyable ride through meat and potatoes noir.