AllMovie

Serie Noire (Black Edition) is an acceptable Gallic imitation of America's hard-boiled detective genre. Henri Vidal plays the anti-hero, who moves with ease through the Parisian underworld. The action highlights are paced a bit too far apart, though with judicious cutting the film looks rather better on TV. Of special interest is the presence in the cast of Erich Von Stroheim in a minor role. The girl in the case is played by Monique Van Vooren. Serie Noire was based on a series of popular paperback adventures of the same title (though the publishing firm responsible for the books renounced the film version).