Colpo grosso al Casinò

Melodie En Sous-Sol (aka Any Number Can Win) is an enjoyable little caper, but the big trouble is that Time has not been very kind to it. It starts out with puzzled and chunky old Jean Gabin wandering through some then fashionable 1960's modern style streets and buildings accompanied by some brash and hip modern jazz music. And then the olde plot starts: man out of jail goes home and almost immediately tells his wife he's planning One Last Big Job involving the stealing of "about a billion" francs. This turns out to be a meticulously planned op, of the type Mission Impossible did so much better a few years later, and that (and Topkapi etc) was a team affair - however this was planned by Gabin even though Alain Delon seemed to have the lion's share of the work to do.

I bet all those cool swingers of the '60's never would have thought they and their music would date faster than those elegant artistes of the 30's! Favourite bits: Delon's long solo bit bringing the caper to fruition; the predatory Countess Doublianoff calling him no gentleman after he peremptorily dismissed her; the cops strolling by and describing the bags they were looking for - I wanted Delon to mutter something as did Peter Lorre in Arsenic And Old Lace when he thought he was going to be discovered; Gabin's expressionless expression.

Even though you may have seen it all before in films made since this one it was shot in a nice black and white with good acting and good production which holds the attention well - and it's all worthwhile anyway when you get to the delicious last 5 minutes when Delon's and Gabin's feelings were definitely too deep for words!

Verneuil is quite well-known for his crime / heist movies and delivers again a classic with 'Mélodie en sous-sol'. Gabin is as solid as ever in his role as a tough heist master and Delon bring its youth and freshness to the movie, linking also the 'old' french movies (including Verneuil and Gabin) with the new generation. (For the anecdote, one year before, Verneuil has also associated Gabin this time with Belmondo, the actor most associated with the New wave movement.)

We definitely have an old time vs current time theme in the movie, illustrated by its first parts. We discover the new Sarcelles with Gabin. The criticism is not formulated by words but is obvious - the more when you know what these dormitory-towns will become. Thus, we follow Delon in his carefree life and I can only smile at the "good old time" referral and the irony behind it. Irony deliberate, already at that time. Irony even better now, that this current time shown in the movie has become a referred "good old time" of our period.

Not to forget Audiard dialogs and punchlines, that brings you smile each time you hear his so characteristic style.

Charles (a magnificent Jean Gavin) is a mature delinquent recently released from prison . He renounces the plans his wife (Viviane Romance) about a simple and easy life . Charles pretends the perfect robbery recruiting previous cell-mate named Francis (Alain Delon, actor most often used in Verneuil films) . The hold-up is carefully schemed on the vault of Cannes casino in the French Riviera . Meanwhile Francis falls in love with a gorgeous baller dancer (Rita Cadillac). Francis wielding a machine gun and black masked hides himself on the elevator shaft and heads to basement where is the locker room . But the bad luck does the crime gone awry.

This heist movie packs thrills , emotion , romance, extraordinary performances and exciting finale burglary . Sensational acting by two big star names , Gabin and Delon . Strong secondary cast with Viviane Romance as the spouse , Jean Carmet as a barman and the Spanish Jose Luis De Villalonga as a Casino chief . Interesting and thrilling screenplay by the prestigious Michael Audiard based on novel by Zekial Marko . Atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Louis Page . Lively musical score with catching leitmotif composed and conducted by Michael Magne .

The picture is splendidly directed by Henry Verneuil , a Turkish director working in France from the 40s . Although not a director of great reputation among the critics , his movies have almost all been aimed squarely at the commercial market . Verneuil is an expert on heist-genre such as he proved in ¨The Sicilians clan(68)¨ also with Gabin and Delon , ¨The burglars(1971)¨ with Omar Shariff and Jean Paul Belmondo , furthermore on Warlike genre : ¨Weekend at Dunkirk¨ and ¨The 25th hour¨ and even directed one Western : Guns of San Sebastian(68)¨. He seemed to have dropped out of the film-making after 1976 , but in 1981 unexpectedly reappeared with yet another of his caper film : ¨Thousand millions of dollars¨ . Rating : Exceptional and above average, a must see for French cinema lovers and Gavin and Delon fans.

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!)

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")