Made in U.S.A is a 1966 French crime comedy film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Anna Karina, Marianne Faithfull and Jean-Pierre Léaud. It was inspired by the Howard Hawks film The Big Sleep—in turn based on the novel of the same name by Raymond Chandler—and unofficially based on the novel The Jugger, by Richard Stark (an alias of Donald E. Westlake). Because neither Godard nor the producer paid the book's adaptation rights and following legal action by Westlake, the film was long unavailable in the United States. The film had its U.S. premiere on April 1, 2009 (three months after Westlake's death) at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in a newly restored print distributed by Rialto Pictures. Criterion released the film on DVD in July 2009. Premise Paula Nelson goes to Atlantic-Cité to meet her lover, Richard Politzer, at an unknown point in the future (possibly 1969). Once there, she learns that Richard is dead and decides to investigate. In her hotel room she meets Typhus, whom she ends up knocking out. His corpse is later found in the apartment of writer David Goodis. Paula is arrested and interrogated. From then on, she encounters many gangsters. Cast Anna Karina as Paula Nelson Jean-Pierre Léaud as Donald Siegel László Szabó as Richard Widmark Ernest Menzer as Edgar Typhus Kyôko Kosaka as Doris Mizoguchi Yves Afonso as David Goodis Marc Dudicourt as barman Sylvain Godet as Robert MacNamara Jean-Claude Bouillon as Inspector Aldrich Philippe Labro as himself Background The film was shot at the same time as Two or Three Things I Know About Her. Godard did it to help his friend and producer, Georges de Beauregard, through difficulties after the censorship of The Nun (1966), a film by Jacques Rivette, that he produced. This is the last full-length film on which Karina and Godard collaborated. He again directed her in a segment ("Anticipation, ou: l'amour en l'an 2000" (Anticipation: or Love in the Year 2000)) of the film The Oldest Profession (1967). Marianne Faithfull has a cameo in a cafe scene where she sings "As Tears Go By". Characters in the film are named for such real-life personages as Don Siegel, Kenji Mizoguchi, Richard Widmark, Robert McNamara, David Goodis, and Richard Nixon. Paula Nelson is probably named for Baby Face Nelson, about whom Siegel had made a film starring Mickey Rooney. The film is dedicated to "Nick and Sam", referring