Touchez pas au grisbi (Don't Touch The Loot)
© 1954 STUDIOCANAL - TF1 International -Antares Films
Barely into middle age when he directed this film, Jacques Becker died only a matter of years later, just shy of turning 54. What a loss to the film world.
Perhaps it's his sophisticated upbringing, but for a gangster noir feature, Touchez pas au grisbi is very elegant.
Jean Gabin is brilliant as the protagonist, Max, a gangster with an eye for the showgirls, but the common sense to know that he is not as young as he once was.
He has pulled off a heist to pay for his retirement, if he can make it that far.
The seedy underworld in which he lives leaves little room for trust, and it's not long before he's double-crossed and finds himself forced back into the crime world to tie up loose ends.
There are some brilliant touches in the latter part of the film: a dead colleague lying in repose under a painting of a naked woman, a scene at Madame Bouche's cafe during the day (where most of the previous scenes have been at night), and near the end of the film, we see Max wearing glasses. He is man enough to know that he is no longer young.
It is a credit to the quality of the story, the director and the cast, that we care about this man, despite his being a criminal - possibly because all he really wants is to settle down to a life of peace and quiet.
Oh, and look out for a very young, brunette Jeanne Moreau: a striking presence even at such a young age.