Champion as level-crossing guard Yvan Chiffre as a policeman Anna Douking as Corey's old girlfriend (as Ana Douking) Mireille Darc as the flower girl in Santi's night club Robert Favart as Mauboussin's clerk Roger Fradet as a policeman Édouard Francomme as billiard hall watchman (as Edouard Francomme) Jean Franval as hotel receptionist Jacques Galland as train conductor Jean-Pierre Janic as Paul, Rico's henchman Pierre Lecomte as Internal Affairs Deputy Jacques Léonard as a policeman Jacques Leroy as a policeman Jean Pignol as court registry clerk Robert Rondo as a policeman Reception Box Office It was the fifth most popular film of the year in France. Critical Vincent Canby, in a 1993 review of a 99-minute version dubbed into English, said the film "may baffle anyone coming upon [Melville] for the first time." According to Canby: Though severely cut, The Red Circle doesn't exactly sweep along. It has a deliberate pace as Melville sets up the story of three chance acquaintances who plan and carry out the sacking of an elegant, supposedly impregnable jewelry store...Understatement is the method of the film, from Melville's pared-down screenplay to the performances by the three trenchcoated principals, even to the muted photography by Henri Decaë, which is in color but has the chilly effect of black and white. Peter Bradshaw, in a 2003 review of a 102-minute reissue, called the film a "treat" and noted "Melville blends the Chandleresque world of his own devising with gritty French reality. With its taut silent robbery sequence, his movie gestures backwards to Rififi, and with Montand's specially modified bullets it anticipates Frederick Forsyth's Day of the Jackal and the contemporary techno-thriller." Hong Kong director John Woo wrote an essay for the Criterion DVD of Le Cercle Rouge arguing the film's merits. When the film was given a theatrical re-release, Woo was given a "presenter" credit. Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four in his 2003 review. See also Heist film References External links Le Cercle Rouge at Variety Distribution Le Cercle Rouge: Great Blasphemies an essay by Michael Sragow at the Criterion Collection Le cercle rouge: What Is the Red Circle? an essay by Chris Fujiwara at the Criterion Collection Between the Lines of Pure Cinema: The Red Circle essay by The Unstitute 1970s crime thriller films 1970 films Films about alcoholism Films directed by Jean-Pierre Melville French crime thriller films French heist films Italian