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!

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.

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")

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.

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!)