"Bob le flambeur" was probably the most influential of Jean-Pierre Melville's auteur cinema. It was an innovative and independent film made on a low budget. Influenced by American motion pictures, Melville was pivotal for the French New Wave. Hence, there's a lot of history to this little B-movie.
It's set in Montmartre, Paris--home of Bob Montagné (played by Roger Duchesne). Bob is a high roller, a compulsive gambler. But after cleaning out, he decides to heist a Deuville casino. Bob is a gentleman hood; he wears a suit and tie, a trench coat and hat. He's "an old young man"--a grizzled, old school ex-convict, whose cool lack of concern for his own faults leads him astray again.
Duchesne fits into this role with ease; he conveys more with facial expressions than he ever says with words. I also enjoyed Guy Decomble's performance as Inspector Ledru, who has been friends with Bob ever since Bob saved his life. In a film where almost every shot has someone smoking, Decomble's smoking is the most artifice; he carries on a conversation with a cigarette in his mouth as if it's a sucker. It's a good film noir, yet it's still a B-movie--awkward and deficient. The plot and character development were wanting.
It's set in Montmartre, Paris--home of Bob Montagné (played by Roger Duchesne). Bob is a high roller, a compulsive gambler. But after cleaning out, he decides to heist a Deuville casino. Bob is a gentleman hood; he wears a suit and tie, a trench coat and hat. He's "an old young man"--a grizzled, old school ex-convict, whose cool lack of concern for his own faults leads him astray again.
Duchesne fits into this role with ease; he conveys more with facial expressions than he ever says with words. I also enjoyed Guy Decomble's performance as Inspector Ledru, who has been friends with Bob ever since Bob saved his life. In a film where almost every shot has someone smoking, Decomble's smoking is the most artifice; he carries on a conversation with a cigarette in his mouth as if it's a sucker. It's a good film noir, yet it's still a B-movie--awkward and deficient. The plot and character development were wanting.