This is a bit random but bear with me - i have vague memories of a french film i watched at uni - black and white I think, made around the same time as Au Bout de Souffle, gangster type film, very atmospheric. There is a great scene where the protagonist is in a car, in the pouring rain, with skeleton keys on the seat next to him, and a cop walks past, he can't move as doesn't want the cop to notice the keys.
Now, clearly I would not make a good film critic, but I do remember loving this film and I really want to buy it for my dad's birthday.
I would be so grateful if anyone could tell me what this film is from my garbled description!