"The Sicilian Clan" stands out as a quality, first-rate, heist thriller from veteran French helmer Henri Verneuil. No stranger to urban big-time crime sagas, Verneuil directed exciting, memorable films such as "Any Number Can Play" (1963), "The Burglars" (1971), and "Fear Over The City" (1975). This polished melodrama about the underworld and the plotting of a major heist caper stars three heavyweight dramatic Gallic thespians; namely, Jean Gabin of "Grand Illusion" (1937), Alain Delon of "Red Sun" (1971), and Lino Ventura of "Three Tough Guys" (1974). Verneuil deployed these icons of French cinema previously in "Any Number Can Play" and "Greed in the Sun" (1964). What sets this superbly lensed movie apart from earlier crime thrillers is its exploration of the traditional 'crime doesn't pay' theme. Aside from an opening escape from a police van, most of the action in this complicated thriller is fairly realistic and incredibly suspenseful.

A notorious cop killer, Roger Sartet (Alain Delon of "Le Samourai"), convinces a Sicilian crime syndicate chieftain, Vittorio Manalese (Jean Gabin of "Action Man"), to mastermind his escape from police custody in exchange for the plans to an international jewelry show that could net millions of dollars worth of ice for the clan. Vittorio's sons slip Sartet a compact-sized drill as he is about to be turned over to prison authorities. During the loud, noisy bus ride through congested Parisian streets to the lock-up, Sartet not only unlocks his handcuffs but he also cuts a hole large enough in the metal floor of the van to slip through it. He can do this because each prisoner in the van is locked up individually in a phone booth sized compartment. Vittorio's sons orchestrate a traffic jam, and Sartet crawls from the prison bus to their van. Immediately, a hard-nosed cop, L'inspecteur Le Goff (Lino Ventura of "The Valachi Papers"), warns Sartet's sister Monique Sartet (Danielle Volle) to contact him if Sartet calls her. He reveals to her that all of her phones are being tapped and that she is under constant surveillance. Nevertheless, Vittorio arranges for Sartet to inconspicuously meet his sister despite the police surveillance. Sartet explains that he shared a cell with a disgruntled husband who killed his wife's lover after he returned from installing a complex alarm system at a jewelry show. Although Vittorio has carefully run his syndicate for years and is planning to retire to Sicily with his wife, he cannot resist this enticing job. He calls up an old friend in New York City, Tony Nicosia (Amedeo Nazzari of "Spy Today, Die Tomorrow"), a Mafioso with connections, to meet him in Rome. Together, they case the jewelry display and verify everything that appeared in Sartet's plans. Moreover, they discover a new alarm that prevents them from stealing the jewels. They tear up a $100 dollar bill, part company, and tell each other if they can figure out a way to pull off the crime that a man will show up with the other half of the C-note.

Meanwhile, a confined Sartet causes no end of trouble for Vittorio because Sartet wants desperately to get laid after two years of going without sex in prison. Le Goff and his men nearly catch Sartet with his pants down in a brothel, but the cop killer stages a miraculous escape. Eventually, Nicosia sends the man with the other half of the C-note, and Vittorio and his sons set up the plan to steal the priceless jewels. At the same time, unbeknownst to either Vittorio or his sons, Sartet has a sexual liaison with Aldo Manalese's sexy wife Jeanne (Irina Demick of "The Longest Day"), one day when she is bathing and Sartet is bashing an eel to death on the rocks. Vittorio's grandson catches them in the act, but Jeanne swears the child to silence. Later, this infidelity comes back to haunt both of them, but not before Sartet accompanies Vittorio on the daring heist, scheduled to occur after the syndicate skyjacks the jetliner transporting the ice. The entire NYPD crowds Kennedy Airport and awaits the villains when the plane touches down in the Big Apple. However, the mobsters have an ace up their collective sleeves.

Director Henri Verneuil quietly builds up atmosphere and momentum in this old-fashioned heist caper and pays off all the narrative set-ups without pulling out anything that he had not foreshadowed from the outset of the story. The gifted cast is top-notch, and the photography, apart from the hijacked jet landing, is terrific. You have to be patient and wait for the inevitable to happen in "The Sicilian Clan," but it is well worth the wait for all the revelations that occur in the end. Ennio Morricone, who scored all of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, provides an interesting but inconspicuous score that beautifully and economically underlines the twists in the plot.

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In "The Sicilian Clan," the villains successfully pull of their caper, but they have an 'honor among thieves' falling out that results in their dying or getting sent to prison. Generally, speaking before the 1966 James Coburn caper "Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round," the criminals never got away with the loot. Here, the French and American criminals fool the cops entirely and get away with the booty. However, the French criminals pay with their lives after the crime because of Jeanne's marital infidelity.

Picture talks about a tough criminal convict -Alain Delon- who escapes and contacts a Siciliens clan ruled by an intelligent old man - Jean Gabin - to prepare a spectacular heist ; then they're pursued by an obstinate Police Inspector - Lino Ventura - . Meanwhile , the ex-con falls in love with a family member -Irina Demick- .

Film runtime is overlong, however is neither tiring , nor boring but amusing as the suspense and thriller is continuous . From the beginning to the end , the action pace is fast movement and for that reason is entertaining. The movie has great loads of action, emotion, drama, tension and intrigue. Actors' interpretation is excellent . Alain Delon as a cold and two-fisted delinquent is top notch . Jean Gavin as a serious and clever Paterfamilies is magnificent . Lino Ventura as a stubborn Police Inspector is awesome. Irina Demick as an attractive lover is enjoyable and enticing. Colorful and atmospheric cinematography by Henry Decae is simply riveting . Special mention to musical score by Ennio Morricone, it's sensitive and extraordinary with a feeling leitmotif . The motion picture was well directed by Henri Verneuil. The film is considered a French classic movie and one of the biggest about hold-up/mobsters genre. The flick will appeal to French noir cinema buffs and Alain Delon fans . Rating : Above average. Outstanding and worthwhile watching.

Traditionally speaking, the influential and groundbreaking classics come from the States, while the raw and exploitative imitations come from Europe (more particularly Italy), but this time it's sort of vice versa. A number of years before there was Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" – or any other major gangster/mafia film, for that matter – there was Henri Verneuil's "The Sicilian Clan". This is the saga of a criminal Italian family in Paris; covering up their clandestine affairs through running a business of electronic bar games. Following a very ingenious but dared and risky escape plan, the family recruits the over-ambitious gangster/convicted cop killer Roger Sartet; even though patriarch Vittorio Manalese is reluctant to trust him and in spite of tough copper Le Goff obsessively hunting him down. Sartet suggests a jewelry theft worth more than 500 million dollars, but the security precautions are insurmountable. Together with an old friend, Vittorio invents a magnificently infallible plan to raid the jewels during their transportation by plane between the exhibition in Rome and another one in New York. Everything goes according to plan, apart from a couple of obstructions, but then Sartet breaks the code of honor by messing around with Vittorio's daughter-in-law. "The Sicilian Clan" literally nearly burst from all the talent that is involved; in the cast with some of the greatest names of French cinema (Alain Delon, Jean Gabin and Lino Venturo) but also in the crew with the fantastic cinematography of Henri Decaë and the immortal soundtrack of Ennio Morricone. But the one thing that probably deserves the most praise and respect is the impeccable scenario, with all its small but intelligent and creative details. It took no less than three gifted writers (including the director) to adapt Auguste Le Breton's landmark novel, but the result is worth showing off with. Sartet's escape from the prison transport is a highlight and the whole plan for the jewelry heist is astoundingly wise. The suspense is present from the beginning but gradually also builds up further along the film. Verneuil terrifically plays out the cat and mouse game between Sartet and Le Goff and, by extension, the entire Manalese family. The story is full of headstrong and robust characters, active on both sides of the law, and the film undoubtedly owes a great deal of its success to the stellar acting performances. During the seventies, and more specifically after the releases of "The Godfather" and films like "Dirty Harry", the police/crime thriller genre boomed in Europe and literally hundreds of excessively violent mafia thrillers got unleashed upon the market. "The Sicilian Clan" relies more on story and atmosphere instead of on wild action, but the film nevertheless remains an important pioneer.