Honour Among Thieves
1959 ‘Touchez pas au grisbi’ Directed by Jacques Becker
Synopsis
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.
Popular reviews
More-
It's pretty much a cliche that the "one last job" of a thief, a hitman, a criminal, what-not will almost always go wrong. Well, in this one, it's what comes AFTER the "one last job". A professional thief hoping to retire pulls a successful "one last job" but complications post-heist ensue. The film is a slow-burn, especially for a crime thriller but it pays off very much in the end. It's not quite as great as "The Hole" (the only other Jacques Becker film I've seen) and other French crime thrillers which I've seen of its era but it's still a very solid outing.
-
First and foremost, it's methodical, moving every piece as carefully and confidently as possible. Jean Gabin's performance is one of the coolest I've seen (certainly his best); Watching him move his weight without a single misstep over and over and over again did not only rub off on me, but left me with a sloppy grin I could barely contain all evening after watching it. Touchez Pas au Grisbi ("Don't Touch the Loot") swims in a school of films that downplayed the actual heist, relegating the violence and greed of robbery to characterization. It's a doozy here, showing us every possible variation, from the young crook trying to usurp power, to the aging sidekick lost in his own unreliability and…
Recent reviews
More-
Fucking badass. The granddaddy of cool French gangster flicks, which predates the New Wave and Melville's dominance of the genre. Right from the start, this isn't your typical crime story. While it may be about an old hood looking to retire, the story takes place AFTER the "last big score." There's no big heists to be seen here. Just a man looking to hold on to his future after a so-called friend decides to come after his nest egg. In fact, one of the film's best scenes is just two guys eating pate and preparing for bed (if you can believe it). While the story may be a subversion of the genre, Jacques Becker gives you what you want at…
-
It's pretty much a cliche that the "one last job" of a thief, a hitman, a criminal, what-not will almost always go wrong. Well, in this one, it's what comes AFTER the "one last job". A professional thief hoping to retire pulls a successful "one last job" but complications post-heist ensue. The film is a slow-burn, especially for a crime thriller but it pays off very much in the end. It's not quite as great as "The Hole" (the only other Jacques Becker film I've seen) and other French crime thrillers which I've seen of its era but it's still a very solid outing.
-
Machine gun finale is fucking rad. Becker was a formidable stylist.
-
Unimpeachable.
-
Decent 50's gangster flick that follows an ageing gangster whose plans of retirement are soon dashed has loose lips from his partner put an end to his dreams.
-
Touchez Pas au Grisbi
"Jean Gabin is a gangster who has taken part in his last job and has hidden the loot 'le grisbi' which other gangsters will go to great lengths to get their hands on. Gabin was great as the gangster (he looked and moved like a 60 year old rather than the 50 he was in 1954) and looked suitably bored/weary with his louche lifestyle. The view of Paris shown fits the people in the film - they weren't respectable and didn't attend top-class establishments. -
This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
-
First and foremost, it's methodical, moving every piece as carefully and confidently as possible. Jean Gabin's performance is one of the coolest I've seen (certainly his best); Watching him move his weight without a single misstep over and over and over again did not only rub off on me, but left me with a sloppy grin I could barely contain all evening after watching it. Touchez Pas au Grisbi ("Don't Touch the Loot") swims in a school of films that downplayed the actual heist, relegating the violence and greed of robbery to characterization. It's a doozy here, showing us every possible variation, from the young crook trying to usurp power, to the aging sidekick lost in his own unreliability and…
-
Max is one of my favorite characters in the history of cinema. If I could be him for five minutes, I'd be satisfied.