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.
Direction
Melville invented the French crime film aesthetic here.
Cinematography
Paris at 5am never looked more beautifully doomed.
Acting
Roger Duchesne's weary nobility is pure cinema.
Director
Jean-Pierre Melville
Roger Duchesne
Robert 'Bob le Flambeur' Montagné
Isabelle Corey
Anne
Daniel Cauchy
Paulo
Gérard Buhr
Marc
Guy Decomble
Police Commissary Ledru
Claude Cerval
Jean, the Croupier
Howard Vernon
McKimmie, the Sponsor
Colette Fleury
Suzanne, Jean's Girlfriend
Simone Paris
Yvonne
René Havard
Inspector Morin
Jean-Pierre Melville
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Melville shot in real Montmartre locations at actual dawn to capture that specific blue-grey light, essentially creating the visual vocabulary of French noir.
Roger Duchesne was a real-life gambler and WWII Resistance fighter whose authentic weariness couldn't be faked—he only made three more films after this.
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