Bad Seed

Set in 1930s Paris, the story centers on Henri Pasquier (Pierre Mingand), whose wealthy father announces he no longer will support his playboy lifestyle. Dr. Pasquier sells his son's beloved Buick roadster, which Henri later sees parked on a street with the keys left in the ignition by the new owner. Unable to resist temptation, he takes the car to keep a date with a young lady he recently has met. Henri is followed by three men who overtake him and bring him to the service station that serves as the front for a gang of car thieves. Believing he is one of them, they warn him not to compete with their operation. At the garage, Henri is introduced to the childlike Jean-la-Cravate (Raymond Galle), who invites him to stay at his flat with him and his sister Jeannette (Danielle Darrieux), who lures men away from their expensive cars so her brother's fellow henchmen can steal them. Jean convinces Henri to join his gang, and he and Jeannette soon are engaging in a series of daring thefts. When they manage to steal three luxury Hispano-Suizas, Henri insists everyone be entitled to better compensation, and the gang leader grudgingly agrees. Perceiving Henri and Jeannette to be troublemakers, the leader sends them to Marseilles in a car with a damaged front axle, hoping it will crack and crash, killing the two. It does crash, but the couple escape without injury. They decide to sail to Casablanca and begin a new life, but Jeannette refuses to leave without her brother. Henri returns to Paris to retrieve him, only to arrive at the garage in the middle of a raid. Jean is shot and seriously injured, and Henri brings him to his father for medical treatment, but he dies. Dr. Pasquier, anxious to help his son escape a life of crime, gives him money so Henri and Jeannette can sail off and start anew.