Touchez pas au grisbi. 1954. France. Directed by Jacques Becker. Written by Becker, Albert Simonin, Maurice Griffe, from a novel by Simonin. With Jean Gabin, René Dary, Dora Doll, Jeanne Moreau, Lino Ventura. In French; English subtitles. 35mm. 94 min.
Jacques Becker’s 1954 crime film became a major hit in France, relaunching the career of its fading star, Jean Gabin. Becker’s take on the genre emphasizes relationships over action, as Gabin’s character, an aging gunman, tries to secure his place in an underworld increasingly dominated by unprincipled rivals (such as the aggressive young Angelo, played by Lino Ventura in his first movie role). Watch for Jeanne Moreau, also at the beginning of her career, as a dancer who finds Ventura a better bet for the future. It’s one of several films by the unsung Becker (Antoine and Antoinette, Rendez-vous au Juillet, Le Trou) to be rediscovered and rereleased by Rialto. “The beauty of the characters comes from their quietness, from the economy of their movements…. Its well-earned success focused on Max the Liar (Gabin) growing old, his weariness, his first pair of reading glasses, the little habits, the good restaurants, the pleasant absorption of a tired-out hooligan who dreams about retiring into middle-class respectability” (François Truffaut).