Synopsis
In Paris, Bob Montagne is practically synonymous with gambling -- and winning. He is kind, classy and well-liked by virtually everyone in town, including police inspector Ledru. However, when Bob's luck turns sour, he begins to lose friends and makes the most desperate gamble of his life: to rob the Deauville casino during Grand Prix weekend, when the vaults are full. Unfortunately, Bob soon learns that the game is rigged and the cops are on to him.
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Cast
- Roger DuchesneRobert 'Bob le Flambeur' Montagné
- Isabelle CoreyAnne
- Daniel CauchyPaulo
- Gérard BuhrMarc
- Guy DecomblePolice Commissary Ledru
- Claude CervalJean, the Croupier
- Howard VernonMcKimmie, the Sponsor
- Colette FleurySuzanne, Jean's Girlfriend
- Simone ParisYvonne
- René HavardInspector Morin
Recommendations
- 100
Christian Science Monitor
Its dark-toned cinematography by Henri Decaë still packs a wallop, and the screenplay has a refreshing sense of humor. - 100
Portland Oregonian
Not a masterpiece, but still fabulous. - 88
Chicago Tribune
A noir with a smile, and after all these years, its deft mixture of darkness and light still makes us smile. - 80
Village Voice
The movie is a superb riff with a boffo finale, a terrific, cynical punch line, and a crazy closing image of Bob's Plymouth on an empty beach. - 80
Washington Post
Great picture? No. Cool picture? Oui. Not as good, I must say, as the sort of thing we moron yanks were doing on our own over here – "D.O.A." is much better. - 75
New York Daily News
Looks a lot like 1950s American gangster films -- particularly, John Huston's "The Asphalt Jungle" -- but it's decidedly French in its sexual candor and moral laissez-faire. - 70
New Times (L.A.)
Shot in stylish black and white, with a memorably low-key performance from Duchesne, Bob le Flambeur is definitely worth checking out on the big screen in a fresh print. - 70
Chicago Reader
The least characteristic movie Jean-Pierre Melville ever made. It replaces his sternly fatalistic philosophizing with a benign, genuinely comic spirit, and his rigidly classical style yields to a pleasant informality.
