Bob le flambeur (1956)

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville; produced by Jean-Pierre Melville, Serge Silberman, Roger Vidal

Bob Montagne (Roger Duchesne) is a veteran criminal and gambler. He’s a respectable, classy man, whom everyone likes, even the police, a high-ranking officer of which (Guy Decomble) owes his life to Bob. But Bob’s luck comes and goes. The day he is down to his last few francs is when he learns that the casino at Deauville routinely keeps a fortune in its safe. Naturally, that safe is heavily protected. Just as naturally, Bob wants to rob it.

An interesting movie, Bob le flambeur comes across as a cheaper, less refined version of the better French crime-films of the mid-1950s, such as Touchez pas au grisbi (the first movie reviewed on this blog this year). The direction seems that of someone still learning his trade, though this was Melville’s fourth feature.

There are several scenes which include people in the background watching the events, as if the filming was conducted without permission, or without involving everyone visible in the shoot. In another scene, shot outdoors, the sound of an aeroplane flying overhead nearly blots out the dialogue, indicating that later dubbing was not used, and little care taken to preclude unintended noises. Though much of the direction is effective, it nonetheless almost conveys the impression of a student film, shot by someone of considerable but undeveloped talent.

The acting too is less capable than in other French movies of the era. Duchesne had made more than a dozen movies in four years, many of them during the German occupation of France. He was shunned afterward as a collaborator, and had not acted for thirteen years prior to Bob le flambeur. While good, he has not the ease or charisma of actors who would rise to the top of French cinema, such as Gabin, Belmondo or Delon.

The performer who stands out most prominently is seventeen year old Isabelle Corey (here credited as Isobel Corey). Her portrayal of Anne, a youngster on the road to ruin, until saved by Bob, is convincing. So too is Decomble’s, playing a cop who is good at and dedicated to his job, but preferring to prevent crime than investigate it.

The script is better than other elements, co-written by Auguste Le Breton, who penned, among other screenplays, Rififi and Razzia sur la chnouf. It creates a winning character in Bob, who protects Anne from a violent pimp, but shuns romance with such a kid, despite her willingness; whose robberies hurt no one - except himself - and whose instinct is to help, even his enemies. The other characters are, if not well-defined, realistic, variously driven by love, greed, desperation and boredom.

A good but not very good film, Bob le flambeur would probably not be one to entice viewers deeper into French 1950s cinema, as would a number of other choices. But for someone who isn’t demanding, and who is willing to be entertained without being impressed, it is a reasonably enjoyable evening at the movies.