It could be a sit-com about two old men and when I re-watched the film it was the sequence that I remembered most clearly – and thoroughly enjoyed. Max provides bedding and pressed pyjamas as well as a toothbrush for Riton. Everything necessary for a comfortable night is already in the apartment and the two ageing gangsters sit down to a meal of paté and crispbreads washed down by by regional white wine sent by a friend. When Max wants to disappear for a night he takes Riton to a hideout apartment that he has secretly rented. Max’s friend and the one person he appears to trust, at least in terms of loyalty, is ‘Riton’ whose real name is Henri Ducros (and played is by René Dary). An impromptu supper of paté and crispbreads. However, one central sequence has become fondly remembered and may have been influential on later filmmakers such as François Truffaut. Comedy is touched on lightly in Grisbi which is primarily a violent gangster feature. These two later appearances of Max seemed to have been more aligned to crime comedies. Jean Gabin appeared in the second film but not the third, which became two one hour TV episodes, I think. Simonin went on to write several more films and the character of Max was used in two further narratives, both from Simonin novels but co-scripted by Michel Audiard. The film is adapted from a novel by Albert Simonin and the screenplay is by Becker and Simonin. The restaurant owner Mme Bouche stands behind Max.Īs well as the young female dancers, the gangsters are also accompanied/assisted at various points by older women, in particular by Madame Bouche (Denise Clair), whose restaurant is the regular haunt of Max and his friends. Max and Riton with the dancers Lola (Dora Doll) and Josy (Jeanne Moreau). Her film breakthrough would come with Lift to the Scaffold (1958) when, ironically, Lino Ventura would have a secondary role. She was a well-known stage actor at the time but her film roles were not that substantial. The dancers include Jeanne Moreau (not bare-breasted!) in a relatively early role. Jacque Becker’s film is still a cracking crime film today but it looks odd in the era of #MeToo since it features a club that is a front for a crime boss and which features dancers and a miniature version of the Folies Bergère with the women wearing ‘pasties’ but otherwise bare-breasted. But someone has talked and the new guy on the block, played by Lino Ventura in his first role at the advanced age of 34 (he was a professional wrestler at the time) is alert to the possibilities. He has performed what he hopes is his last job and has the haul stashed away. Gabin plays Max, a well-respected but ageing gangster who dresses elegantly and is well organised. It’s unusual because there are no police involved in what is purely a gangland tale. The three poster names, Lino Ventura, Jean Gabin and Jeanne Moreau
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