Bob Le Flambeur (1956)

An aging gambler and ex-convict (Roger Duchesne) lives in the Montmartre district of Paris where he literally gambles his life away. When he hears that a Deauville casino will have 800 million in francs, he coerces his safecracker friend (Andre Garet) into helping him get a team of men to heist the casino's money, a plan that will have consequences for all concerned. Directed by Jean Pierre Melville, technically this could be called a heist movie along the lines of OCEAN'S ELEVEN or THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR. But it's not really the details of or the actual heist which is the focal point of the film. It's its myriad of characters and their place in this puzzle and their varied fates. Instead of a seamy and sordid atmosphere, Melville actually (whether he intended it or not) gives the whole process a sheen of allure and attraction. Disreputable never looked so glamorous. I had a minor problem believing that Duchesne's gambling addiction would cause him to forget something so crucial but then again I've never been addicted to gambling so I suppose it's possible. The film has a slight misogyny to it as two different women (the amoral Isabelle Corey, the conniving Colette Fleury) are responsible for unraveling the carefully thought out plans. Oh, did I mention that I was quite taken with it? With Daniel Cauchy, Guy Decomble and Claude Cerval.