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Grisbi [VHS]

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If there is one scene that explains the enduring appeal of 'Touchez Pas Au Grisbi' (basically 'don't touch the loot'), it is this: Max (Jean Gabin at his most Mitchum-esque), an aging hood who has pulled off a massive airport robbery and plans to retire quietly to the country, sits in his apartment one night with his old friend, the somewhat lunk-headed Riton (Rene Dary). Riton's girlfriend (Jeanne Moreau) has left him for a young gangster, Angelo (Lino Ventura in a sensational debut), whom she has informed of the job, and who is trying every means possible to snatch the gold.

So this scene is of crucial generic urgency, with rippling consequences for the development of the plot. What Becker films is entirely without urgency or consequence. In complete silence, he follows the middle-aged men as they enter the apartment, sit down, prepare a light supper, eat and talk; Max then gets up, takes out mattresses and pillows for his friend's bed like a good chambermaid, undresses in the bathroom, brushes his teeth, Riton likewise; then they both go to bed. This beautifully understated, intimate and domestic scene does not replace the crime genre, but co-exists in paralell with it, showing what is at stake.

This split defines the movie, from the conflict between older and younger characters (and men and women); between Max's affable respectability and his latent sadism; between bright interiors of oppressive theatrical artifice and dark outdoor locations; between static scenes where nothing much happens and jolting bursts of brutal violence and action. You even find it in the brilliant closing car chase, as thrilling location work intercuts with Hitchcock-style back projection. This disparity between the real and ideal gives the film its melancholic, philosophical heart, and gives the climax an over-powering force, set in the quiet countryside to which Max wished to retire, and which can only offer backdrop to a bloodbath.

Critics have found in 'Grisbi', a gangster film about loyalty, treachery, collaboration, surveillance, torture, clandestine activities, secret hideouts, rural slaughter and military hardware, some kind of allegory for the Nazi Occupation of France a decade previously. This explanation is attractive because the period had been tacitly removed from the public sphere. But there is nothing so portentously grand in Becker's characteristically light handling. Max and the gangsters may well have been in the Resistance - Melville has said that underworld methods and contacts were vital to both Resistance and Gestapo - as their knowledge of torture techniques and gun-smuggling suggests. But the Resistance were absolutely crucial to their time and place, whereas Max and his friends are resolutely out of time, relics from the past who can only play at assimilation - the recurring motif of Max's harmonica theme suggests a man literally stuck in a groove. Max himself exists in a paralell world to the realities of a 1950s France nowhere to be seen on screen, a revenant infernally condemned to repeat mistakes and watch old friends die.

Like a fine wine, TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI has aged wonderfully. Under the expert and loving hands of the folks at Criterion, we have an absolutely pristine print of this understated and refined French gangster movie. Watching the Criterion DVD is to fall completely into the film, as the restored black and white images are simply glorious.


This movie is not like today's heavy-handed violent gangster movies, but a more elegant and sophisticated presentation that focuses on character development and its themes of loyalty, betrayal, and an adherence to a moral code. Jean Gabin, who plays the urbane and respected criminal Max, is the soul of this movie, presenting Max as charming, stoic, and ruthless. Great detail is given to ordinary tasks, like the serving of a meal, brushing of one's teeth, etc., but the effect, instead of arty, goes to the development of the characters and the portrayal of them as regular folks.


Lest you believe this is a slow talky picture, there are moments of explosive violence that will send a chill through you. Suspense is created through the most effective of methods: by what you don't see and what is filled in by one's own imagination. As the tension mounts in the movie, you will be glued to the screen gripping the arms of your chair with withering anticipation. They don't make 'em like this anymore, neither here nor in Europe. This movie is a fine example of both French cinema before the New Wave, and of the gangster genre.


In any language, TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI means film excellence, especially after the careful, painstaking restoration by Criterion Studios.

Class is often confused with style and fashion in the regards to how one dresses. In our contemporary society this confusion is frequently expressed through flamboyance, which is usually the result of how money talks. However, this vain perception of class has nothing to do with one's self conduct. Refinement, sophistication, and class are qualities that should be attached with characteristics such as trust, confidence, and mutual respect. These qualities are what define a gentleman. When people see a true gentleman they only see the exterior, and it is this exterior that money buys.

The days of gentlemen criminals are long gone. Films such as Scarface (1983), New Jack City (1991), or any of Takashi Miike's violent gangster illustrations depict the new style of gangsters that contemporary society is facing where disloyal and ill-mannered thugs roll in the direction of dough. These films visualize the frightening power money has on people. This could be seen up close in a grotesque manner in the brilliant Maria Full of Grace (2004) where humans are being regarded as pack mules. Touchez Pas Au Grisbi, which was shot over a half century ago, depicts the coming of this new criminal element.

Nostalgia swallows Jacques Becker's crime story about the aging criminal and gentleman Max (Jean Gabin). The story takes place in Paris where Max lives life with a women half his age while spending untold numbers of nights desiring the same meaningless affection from the women seeking their way into men's wallets. The many visits to the night clubs have led Max to discover that he has grown old, and many of the people around him are older. The life he once desired is no longer as appealing, as he decides that he wants to return home early. Max even discloses this to his friend Riton (René Dary) while having found out that Riton's young girlfriend has found a younger lover, as she has previously given Riton empty promises of love.

The professional life, which Max has chosen for himself is also undergoing a transformation. Younger generations are cutting into the growing drug business without the consideration of others, and these young newcomers show little class while they trample on everyone in their sight. Recently Max carried out a job that brought him and his partner Riton 50 million worth in Orly gold bars. This was to be Max's final job before retirement, however, the newcomers in the criminal underworld seem to want change his destiny.

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi is a stunning gangster tale where the old ways are to face off with the new. This is depicted through Max who is undergoing a personal life changing experience, as he is confronted by events around him that make him question what he is doing. The character that Jean Gabin delivers to the screen is marvelously multifaceted, as he portrays the gentleman thief by being a tender lover, clever diplomat, friendly patron, and firm interrogator. The cast around Gabin also displays nice work as they all accentuate Max's uniqueness by being fairly simple characters. Much is due to Becker's marvelous directing, which comes together through all the aspects of filmmaking. This eventually leaves the audience in a haze of bewilderment, as Touchez Pas Au Grisbi offers a complex and enriching cinematic experience.

This film, made in 1954, is an ironic look at an ageing gangster ready to go into retirement, having pulled off one last heist - several bars of gold - which gets him into a life and death conflict with several younger hoods plotting to steal it from him. He is accompanied by a long-time partner, and director Becker makes much of the friendship between them as they talk of getting too old for the life of night clubbing and show girls. Gabin is wonderful in this role, rarely smiling, often a little bored, while maintaining an air of gravitas appropriate for a suave, well dressed man of considerable reputation among his peers.

The film moves rather slowly as it sets up the situation while taking time to humanize the characters, but eventually there is excitement enough as a kidnapping leads to a dramatic car chase, automatic gunfire, and explosives. The script is tightly knit, taking place over a period of 36 hours, and the cinematography is impressive for the time, as so much was shot in the streets of night-time Paris or in the darkened countryside (actually the Riviera). A revealing "floor show" is also in stark contrast to the Production Code-regulated exposure of skin permitted in Hollywood films of the 1950s.

As the interviews on this DVD reveal, only Gabin among its cast (including Lino Venturra and a very young Jeanne Moreau) was known to film audiences at the time, and Gabin had long since ceased being a bankable "star." This film was a comeback role for him and it helped launch the careers of Venturra and Moreau. Altogether, this DVD re-release offers many pleasures for fans of film noir and landmarks of popular French cinema. The collection of interviews from various sources, including Lino Venturra and the film's composer, are especially informative.

Seen today, Touchez Pas Au Grisbi seems like Jean Gabin's last great role, but in 1954 it was seen as his comeback after a slew of disappointing post-war films that were generally fairly average on their own merits even when not compared to his remarkable run of pre-war classics. Certainly he was the right actor at the right time when his career, like the old-school thief he plays, was beginning to look like it was over. The old Gabin is still recognisable but the rot has set in, and it's that combination of a class act that has outlived his time that makes his perfect casting performance so remarkable. He's a bit of a moaner and feels his age: constantly weary, he's got to that time in his life when he wants to go to bed early because if he stays up after midnight he feels like he's working overtime. Far from the doomed romantics he specialised in during his Thirties prime, he's a faded man edging into the shadows - in one remarkable shot even a lit match casts no light on his face - in a film that takes a lot of the glamour off both its star and its genre. He and his longtime, not too smart partner have pulled their last job before the film even starts, and the inevitable violence and tragedy come from his attempts to keep his newly acquired `pension' - the grisbi (loot) of the title - from rival crooks.

There's no romance or honour among thieves here. From the clubs where the `dancers' do little more than walk across the stage to the restaurants that shun the slumming socialite crowd, it's a mediocre, artificial world they inhabit, where packs of criminals aren't loyal unless it suits them, where almost everyone either expresses disappointment or hides behind insincere clichéd expressions of admiration and loyalty. For director Jacques Becker how his low lives go about the everyday business of living is as important as the plot, and strangely it's surprisingly compelling too despite what is happening often being so mundane. You can feel the cold of the rarely used apartment he and René Dary's Riton eat their crackers and pate in before breaking out their pajamas, brushing their teeth and going to bed early just as vividly as you can feel the crisp night air of a roadside hostage exchange that goes disastrously wrong.

If that sounds perhaps too grim and austere, the film is anything but. Beautifully directed by Becker, whose reputation has sadly faded over the years - indeed, for a long time this, perhaps his most famous film, was out of circulation in English speaking territories - and featuring Lino Ventura in his first role and an early appearance by Jeanne Moreau, it's one of the best French thrillers ever made and it's easy to see why it's been such a huge influence on the crime genre. The UK DVD is a good presentation as is the original StudioCanal French DVD, but not unexpectedly, Criterion's Region 1 NTSC DVD outdoes it as far as supplements go: a lengthy extract from French TV series Cinéastes de Notre Temps, an entertaining and insightful 2002 interview with supporting player Daniel Cauchy, who reveals why his character really didn't make it to the film's finale, a 1972 interview with Lino Ventura, a 1978 interview with composer Jean Wiener, the original French theatrical trailer and detailed liner notes.

Jean Gabin has always been my favorite actor (he should be; I wrote a book about him -- WORLD'S COOLEST MOVIE STAR), and this is really the consummate 'later period' Gabin movie.

Most Americans know Jean Gabin only from a handful of films which he made in the '30s, his "matinee idol" period when he played movie history's consummate tragic drifter. But in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, he played the ultimate 'classy' gentleman-gangster -- a definite progenitor of Vito Corleone -- and director Jacques Becker's "Touchez pas au grisbi" ("Hands of the Loot") knocks it out of the park. If you like French noir movies like "Rififi" and "Bob Le Flambeur," this picture is just as wonderful.

Aside from the requisite action sequences, director Jacques Becker (Renoir's A.D. on "Les Bas-fonds," "La Grande illusion," and "La Bete humaine") wisely alternates the action with some finely nuanced scenes between the characters, scenes which really make them genuine and 'real' to the viewer.

I can't recommend Touches pas au grisbi" highly enough. It should be part of every serious cineaste's DVD collection.

Jean Gabin is sensational as a dapper old Parisian gangster who knows when his bedtime is. Not so his lovelorn buddy who lets slip to his younger showgirlfriend Jeanne Moreau about their last haul. When dope-dealing lug Lino Ventura catches wind and plots to rip them off, it's time for Gabin to start slapping people.

Great scenes of Paris at night coupled with a terrific score make this a thrilling entertainment. And the picture looks stunning on this DVD.

It's amazing to think that Lino had never acted before this -- he's effortlessly menacing here. But this is Gabin's show. He's tough but oddly lovable too. Never has the criminal urge to kick back and enjoy the good life seemed less cliche and more poignant.

Jacques Becker's tight, intelligent thriller out-noirs most American entries. The magnetic presence of Gabin, France's answer to Tracy and Bogart, helps immeasurably. Gabin's Max is tough as they come, but also shows a human side in his unwavering loyalty to careless pal Riton. Becker keeps the yarn unraveling at a brisk pace, as Max's long-awaited retirement remains suspended in mid-air. Eye catching Paris locale adds flavor to this juicy crime classic.

This is a film I like a lot. I like the way it spends the first half of the movie setting up the situation, getting us into the milieu and letting us know the characters. Everyone seems to be tough but you don't know just how tough until the second half of the movie starts rolling. And if I could transform myself into the style of one actor, it would be Jean Gabin. He dominates the movie effortlessly, in every way from how he moves, gives a shrug and a half smile, pulls a chair for his mistress and then places his hands momentarily on her shoulders, stares at a punk who is being deliberately hurt to make him talk. Gabin was 50 when he made this movie and looks it. He could have passed for 60. He's getting a little thick in the middle, his eyes have bags and his neckline sags. He has no vanity. His character points this all out to his friend Riton when he tries to talk a little sense to his friend. And as fascinating a character as Max is, it doesn't take long before you realize that, if he were really upset with you, he could kill you with barely a second thought.

Part of the pleasure of the movie also is the other characters. With a number of them I was kept a little off balance. Angelo at first comes off as a tough gangster. But then you realize that he's not only tough, but he's smart. Pierrot also kept me guessing. What role was he playing? I kept assuming he was just probably a slimy nightclub owner ready to betray anyone. Then it turns out he's ready to back up Max even when it gets dangerous.

And of course some of the pleasure of the movie is that it isn't just a first rate film of gangsters and criminal style. It's even more about friendship and about the years catching up with us all. Max's interior monologue about his friend Riton is not only touching, it went a long way to explaining who Max himself was. The end, when Max has to put on a pair of glasses to check a phone number, is a satisfying way to conclude Max's story.

The Criterion DVD picture is great and the interviews are interesting. I especially enjoyed the one with Lino Ventura, who played Angelo.

"Touchez Pas au Grisbi," ("Don't Touch the Loot,") (1954). In another triumph of classic French cinema, Jacques Becker's tight - 94 minutes--black and white action/ crime thriller/film noir stars Jean Gabin( Grand Illusion - Criterion Collection,Essential Art House: Le Jour se Lève) as Max, called le Menteur, an aging, world-weary gentlemanly gangster who believes he can retire after he and his friend Henri Ducros, known as Riton, make a big score: eight bars of gold, then worth 50 million francs. But he soon discovers that a competitor has his eye on the takings: brutal crime boss Angelo Fraiser (Lino Ventura ,SICILIAN CLAN (1969)), who heard about the job from round-heeled chorus girl Josy, (Jeanne Moreau - Jules and Jim - Criterion Collection).

Becker (Casque d'Or - Criterion Collection,Le Trou - Criterion Collection), is known to have enjoyed making gangster flicks, and he made a few. This one, filmed in a Paris that seems to sparkle, is, in fact, as dark, gritty, and exciting as any he made. It was a hit when released, despite the fact that, at that time, it was considered to have no stars. Gabin had had a number of flops, and was perceived as being washed-up: this movie proved his comeback vehicle. Ventura would go on to make more than 50 films, but this was his first--someone had recommended him to the director as a man who looked like a gangster; at the time, having been a wrestler, he was working as a wrestling promoter. Moreau was very young, and if it wasn't her first film, she hadn't made many - she hardly looks like herself. Daniel Cauchy, who played Fifi, a young member of Angelo's gang, was also making his first movie: he'd been an illustrator. But someone had recommended him, too, to the director as a man who looked like a gangster. He would go on to do 20 years of gangster pictures, including Bob le Flambeur - Criterion Collection.

This film was, to be sure, highly influential on the crime films that would follow. It's absorbing, character-driven, with considerations of love, friendship and morality at its heart. The script is faultless: the picture is hard-charging and hard-edged, tough, yet it has an evocative, romantic atmosphere. The director's treatment of the crime milieu is matter-of-fact, his tale narrated with great understatement, then, surprising violent episodes. Gabin turns in his usual man of the people performance: hardened, but humorous. It's a powerful movie that works its way to a shootout on dark, empty country roads, with an ending no viewer will soon forget.