Mélodie en sous-sol

After a long period in jail, Charles (Jean Gabin) returns home and does not accept the plan of his wife Ginette (Viviane Romance) of moving to the countryside for a quieter life. He plots the heist of a casino and invites his young cell mate Francis (Alain Delon) and his brother-in-law to participate. The check-in two different hotels posing of millionaire and Charles' plan works perfectly. But when Charles finds that Francis has compromised his plan with a silly attitude, things go wrong.

"Mélodie en sous-sol" is another great French heist movie with Jean Gabin and Alain Delon. The story is well-developed and the ironic conclusion is very tense. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Gangsters da Casaca" ("The Gentlemen Gangsters")

It is well nigh impossible to imagine any other French actor of that time with box office clout who could have played Charles, the ageing, hard-bitten crook nearly as well as Jean Gabin. There is also Alain Delon, the new kid on the block, who was very keen to play the part of Gabin's partner in crime as it would hopefully increase his profile in the United States.

This is Gabin's third collaboration with director Henri Verneuil and has all the hallmarks of Verneuil's style: very little camera movement, good composition of shots and an eye for detail. Louis Page who worked a great deal with Gabin contributes stunning cinematography. I found the score to be rather intrusive but I am probably in the minority. Adapted by Albert Simonin from 'The Big Grab' this has tremendous dialogue by Michel Audiard which is a gift to any actor. Rita Cadillac is rather insipid as the love interest but there is a lovely cameo from Dora Doll as a high class hooker. On a nostalgic level it is great to see Viviane Romance as she and Gabin had first appeared on film together in 1936. The highlight of course is the casino heist which is filmed brilliantly. Slick, professional but rather 'cold' this film will always have an audience because of its subject matter and the two charismatic leads. The final sequence is beautifully edited and absolutely priceless.

This film deserves more credit than it gets. All the actors are top notch (Jean Gabin as the ageing theif, Alain Delon as the playboy) and the story is very well crafted and has all the great tough guy dialogue of great caper's like RIFIFI, BOB LE FLAMBEUR etc however the overall tone of the film is a bit lighter and not as serious as those films. the heist itself is pretty short and sweet but this movie is more about the planning and the aftermath.

Another great thing about this picture is that even though it's black and white, it's still widescreen adding a nice touch to the look of the film. The only drawback to the DVD is that the picture is quite soft and blurry but for a film of this age and obscurity beggars can't be choosers! Another must see for heist fans (like me!)

An old gangster (Jean Gabin) wants to plan a last robbery before retiring. He asks a young man (Alain Demon) met in jail for a partner. The story may look classical but it's played very fine. The most interesting thing in this movie is the dialogue by Michel Audiard. It's amazing ! As good as ever, so watch this film in french language.

It's also the farewell to an old world which disappears little by little because the time of old gangsters is over. It's also funny to hear the characters talk in french postwar slang language.

For a part of public, the actors are the lead motif to see it. for other, the plot, reminding Ocean Eleven. a French Heist movie, good performance of Delon, same Gabin in inspired use of the nuances of character and the perfect end. nothing new at first sigh. in fact, the old flavors are the lead motif for see a film about a hold -up, its levels and portraits of men inside it.