Les Distractions (aka Trapped By Fear) (1960)

A reporter and photographer (Jean Paul Belmondo) comes to the rescue of an old army companion (Claude Brasseur) in Algeria after the accidental killing of a police officer. As a police manhunt closes in on the fugitive, the reporter must also deal with his tumultuous personal life. Based on the novel by Jean Bassan and directed by Jacques Dupont (CONGOLAISE). Dupont was a documentary film maker and to my knowledge, this was the only fictional narrative film he made. It's not a bad film at all but while I've never seen any of Dupont's documentaries, I suspect he wasn't entirely comfortable working in a fictional narrative. The film is split into two halves. The fugitive's hiding and escape from the law and the reporter's love life which is less interesting. Belmondo's womanizer treats women abominably here although Alexandra Stewart as his obliging doormat girlfriend annoyed the hell out of me. Much more interesting are Sylva Koscina as an ambitious model and Eva Damien as a promiscuous salesgirl. With Mireille Darc and Yves Brainville.