Bob Le Flambeur

After seeing enough of a director's movies, it's always fun to go back and see how their styles and techniques changed over the years as they became more familiar with what worked and what didn't. Having seen a handful of Jean-Pierre Melville's films, I watched Bob Le Flambeur this weekend, the director's first crack at the gangster movie with the element of a heist added in. Obviously not as polished as his later efforts, the 1956 heist gangster combo is worth a watch just to see how much Melville changed over the course of his short career.

Living in Paris, a middle-aged gambler and former gangster named Bob is on the bad end of a very unlucky streak. He leads an expensive life, all the while looking out for the well-being of those in trouble or need around him. So combine the two, bad luck and a generous spirit, and Bob is in trouble looking for a way to get back on the right track. It's through a friend and former gangster turned club owner, Roger (Andre Garet, apparently a real-life gangster), that Bob hears about the casino at Deauville. On the next Grand Prix race day, the casino will have over $800 million francs in its vault. Desperate to get back on a winning streak no matter the cost, Bob begins to organize a meticulously planned heist.

Style-wise the differences are huge comparing this movie to Melville's later gangster pics like Le Samourai or Le Cercle Rouge. Late in his career, the director refined a style built on the visual with little dialogue or music being used. So with that said, 'Bob' is a very talkative film but not too talky. Filmed in black and white, the visual element is still there with plenty of shadows and dark streets used to set the mood. And filmed on a small budget, there's a grittiness, a reality to the movie with many shots being filmed with a handheld camera.

Another big difference is in the make-up of the main character, Bob, the high-rolling gambler. Compared to Alain Delon or Lino Ventura, who were both extremely suave/cool but not always likable, Bob is downright friendly. His flaw is his gambling addiction, always ready to turn his winnings into bigger winnings. But other than that, he's a reformed gangster who lives on the up and up. He looks out for people in trouble, two people in particular, Anne (Isabelle Corey), a young woman just trying to get by in life, and Paolo (Daniel Cauchy), a young hood who so desperately wants to be respected as a gangster. While the performances from the two young actors are good if not great, it's Roger Duchesne as Bob that makes the movie work. Flaws aside, I liked this character and wanted him to get back on the winning track. I was rooting for him to pull off the heist.

Like his later movies, there's a cynicism to 'Bob' that works because it isn't forced. Things don't always go smoothly in life, and Bob has been on both sides of that. He wins thousands at a horse race, but loses it hours later in a backroom at a casino. That's why the ironic ending works so well. It builds and builds and even though you see it coming, you hope it doesn't head where it's going. Of course, it goes exactly that way. While it's not as dark as Melville's other films, it certainly qualifies as a downer.

The Criterion Collection DVD is a single disc, but more than worthwhile. The movie is shown in a fullscreen presentation that really makes the black and white cinematography come to life over 50 years later. Special features include a 22-minute interview done in 2002 with Cauchy that covers everything from the background of the movie to Melville as a director, another 20-minute radio interview with Melville completed in 1962, and a trailer to cap it all off. A good precursor for his later classics, Bob Le Flambeur is definitely worth checking out.

Bob Le Flambeur (1956): ***/****