Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954)
"Touchez pas au grisbi" (original title)

An aging, world-weary gangster is double-crossed and forced out of retirement when his best friend is kidnapped and their stash of eight stolen gold bars demanded as ransom.

Director:

Jacques Becker

Writers:

Albert Simonin (novel), Jacques Becker (adaptation),

Stars:

Jean Gabin, René Dary, Dora Doll

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Gabin	...	Max dit Max le Menteur
René Dary	...	Henri Ducros dit Riton
Dora Doll	...	Lola
Vittorio Sanipoli	...	Ramon
Marilyn Buferd	...	Betty (as Marilyn Bufferd)
Gaby Basset	...	Marinette
Paul Barge	...	Eugène (as Barge)
Alain Bouvette	...	Le chauffeur de taxi (as Bouvette)
Daniel Cauchy	...	Fifi
Denise Clair	...	Madame Bouche
Angelo Dessy	...	Bastien
Lucilla Solivani	...	Nana, la secrétaire de Pierrot
Michel Jourdan	...	Marco
Paul Oettly	...	Oscar
Jean Riveyre	...	Le portier de l'hôtel Moderna

Storyline

Max, an old gangster, and his buddy Riton have got away with 50-million francs in gold bars, who think they ought to retire now. But Riton's girl-friend is tired of him, and has a new protector, Angelo, who is the boss of a rival gang. Through her, Angelo learns about his rival's "grisbi" (loot) and plots to get it. So he kidnaps Max's partner. Max asks some of his friends for help but then gets the message he can exchange the money for his partner.

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Plot Keywords:

gold | rival | partner | gold bar | friend | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Rialto Pictures

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

February 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grisbi

Filming Locations:

Avenue Frochot, Paris 9, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$21,674 (USA) (5 September 2003)

Gross:

$95,793 (USA) (17 October 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Del Duca Films, Antares Produzione Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to actor Daniel Cauchy (Fifi), his character was originally supposed to remain in the car until the classic showdown between Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin. He was commuting by air between another film commitment being shot in Paris and this one, but director Becker thought it would be more expedient to have Gabin's character throw him out of the car before that.

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Goofs

When the submachine guns are removed from the wine box, they are Sten Submachine guns. When they are removed from the car after the ambush they are Sten Guns. When they are finally shot at the retreating gangsters, they have become two different models of Thompson Submachine guns, an early civilian model of a Thompson and a military model (M1 or M1A1) of a Thompson.

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Quotes

Max: That's the trouble with young people - they're so doggone young!

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Connections

Referenced in 2 x 50 Years of French Cinema (1995)

User Reviews

Wonderful gangster-story by Jacques Becker

It would be nonsense to give an order of merit to the three cinematic masterpieces by director Jacques Becker. However, personally I love "Touchez pas au grisbi" even more than "Casque d'or" or "Le Trou". In "Touchez pas au grisbi" we find all we can ask from a Becker's film: splendid black-and-white cinematography, evocative, romantic atmosphere, brilliant script, stunning excellence of the actors' job. But here we get more: a tough, perfectly written gangster-story, swift pace and action blended with an outstanding psychological design.

The movie is mainly a story of friendship and honor. We have two old pals, two aged gangsters close to retire: Max (Jean Gabin), smart and clever, well aware that their best years are over, and Riton (Rene Dary), naive and rash, unable to accept the end of their youth, even dumb if you want, but extremely brave and devoted to his friend. Max is constantly grumbling against Riton and the troubles he causes. He scorns Riton's courage... brains and good sense, that's the important thing... But when it's the time for action, we see how deep and touching their friendship is, how ready they are to sacrifice themselves for each other. In other words, there are circumstances when only courage and honor count...

According to his usual style, Becker describes the world of criminals as a weird parallel of the world of "decent people". To be a gangster appears a job like another: a day at the office. See Max's poise and professional way, when he negotiates the value of the "grisbi" (the swag) with the receiver. And when Max is going to face a last-blood gang-war, he quietly leaves a large sum of money to a trusted bar-maid, in case of need "... to tip somebody (i.e. police or judges)... to fix possible problems... you know better..."

Inside a story narrated in the most understated way, Becker inserts unexpected explosions of violence. Take the owner of the Night Club, another old pal of Max's and Riton's. Poised, always silent, short, fat, with thick glasses, he seems the less harmful person. Yet, suddenly, and without a single word of comment, he starts to brutally beat a thug from a rival gang. And, with the machine-gun, he shows himself even tougher than Max and Riton.

Of course, the movie also offers a Gabin's trade-mark scene, when he slaps everybody, men and women as well. Great stuff: toughness mixed with sense of humour. Gabin's performance is at the highest level reached in a glorious career.

What else to add? "Touchez pas au grisbi" is a fantastic masterpiece. Moreover, I guess that this film is good for all tastes , which probably can't be said for other Becker's cinematic gems.