Death of a Corrupt Man

Death of a Corrupt Man (French: Mort d'un pourri), also known as The Twisted Detective, Death of a Louse and Kill a Rat, is a 1977 French political thriller directed by Georges Lautner and starring Alain Delon. The film is based on the novel by Raf Vallet.

Cast

Alain Delon as Xavier 'Xav' Maréchal
Ornella Muti as Valérie
Stéphane Audran as Christiane
Mireille Darc as Françoise
Maurice Ronet as Philippe Dubaye
Michel Aumont as Commissaire Moreau
Jean Bouise as Commissaire Pernais
Daniel Ceccaldi as Lucien Lacor
Julien Guiomar as Fondari
Klaus Kinski as Nicolas Tomski
François Chaumette as Lansac
Xavier Depraz as Marcel
Henri Virlojeux as Paul
Colette Duval as La secrétaire de Serrano
Carole Lange (a.k.a. Carole Achache) as La fille du vestiaire
El Kebir as Kébir
Gérard Hérold as Dupaire

Musical score and soundtrack

The film score was composed and arranged by Philippe Sarde and features saxophonist Stan Getz fronting the London Symphony Orchestra and the soundtrack album was first released on the French Melba label.

Allmusic's Yuri German noted, "Film director Georges Lautner, who worked with Philippe Sarde on a dozen films, said that he was always impressed by the composer's ability to find an original musical approach to each picture. This time, Sarde, who always closely follows the editing process, suggested that they needed a strong soloist, preferably a tenor saxophone player, who would serve as a musical counterpart for the actor Alain Delon's famous good looks. Being a perfectionist, he opted for Stan Getz, one of the all-time great tenor saxophonists. Watching Getz's performance, Lautner decided to find a way to put the musician in the picture. He filmed Getz playing the opening theme, "Paris, Cinq Heures du Matin", solo, and it's the saxophonist's silhouette that appears during the credits sequence in the beginning of the film... The soundtrack turned out to be costly, but the director was pleased with the outcome. Sarde's instincts were right—Getz's saxophone gave the soundtrack a lyrical, nostalgic quality—fitting for Alain Delon's quest in the film for the sake of the past, to honor the memory of his dead friend".