Quand la ville s'éveille

A tribute to John Huston's "while the city sleeps" ?Perhaps so ,but the movie significantly fails in its purpose.It's the umpteenth story of cops and robbers.

An armored van is attacked and the gangsters hide the loot in a graveyard.RIP.

But a young photojournalist saw it all!And he took a whole lot of pictures in order to...... achieve a scoop? infuriate the cops (it was trendy in the wake of the May 68 events)? blackmail the gangsters and make a lot of dough?He cannot make up his mind (or is it the script writers who cannot?)For the script is mediocre,the dialog is poor ,the director spineless.

It is obvious that this feature is a tribute to John Huston's ASPHALT JUNGLE, especially in the last image of the movie; exactly the same as the Huston's masterpiece. Pierre grasset - director and main character - was also a Jean-Pierre Melville's sidekick - LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE and DEUX HOMMES DANS MANHATTAN - and this is also a kind of tribute to the fabulous French director whom even Quentin Tarantino takes inspiration from. But this is not a masterpiece, just a solid crime film. Two journalists are witness of a daring armored truck heist and so they begin to be the preys for the gangsters. Raymond Pellegrin is excellent here with his co star Grasset, whom he also was involved in an armored truck heist in LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE. A professional gangster, armed robber, with a good burgess looking face, except his eyes so tough, so fierce: remember him in LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE and BRIGADE ANTI GANGS; he played in those two movies characters close to this one. A mastermind criminal with family and his own night club, restaurant or truck company. I love this movie, and the way the gangsters are described.