Bob Le Flambeur

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Film Description

Aka Bob the Gambler. Superb Gallic film noir from the pre-eminent Americanophile amongst French directors. An elegantly filmed Parisian gangster drama with a lightness of tone and sureness of touch that seems both stylishly modern and a lovingly recreated homage to the 1940s American city thrillers from which Melville drew inspiration.

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Review by Graeme Hobbs on 6th October 2006

Bob Montagné is the gambler of the title, a one-time criminal hatching a last plan to spring the safe at the Deauville casino after being cleaned out there in a gambling session. Can his assembled gang see the plan through before the boastful pillow talk from Bob's protégé Paolo to the enigmatically vague-but-straightforward Anne finds its way to the police?

Filmed mostly in the streets and the back rooms of late-night clubs in Montmartre, there are so many stylistic touches here now associated with the nouvelle vague that it comes as a surprise to find that Melville's film is from 1955, predating the movement by some way. There's the gangster theme, a jaunty camera angle here and a humorous musical cue there, screen wipes, ironic narration and the inclusion of ambient background sound, all of which makes for an exciting piece of filmmaking that has an assured lightness of touch and still looks as fresh today as Godard's A bout de souffle, which took its lead from Melville's earlier film.

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Article - "Melville Rendezvous" by Pasquale Iannone
Saturday 10th April 2004

The work of director Jean Pierre Melville occupies a vital position in the landscape of post-war French cinema. Born Jean Pierre Grumbach in 1917, he took his nom de plume - from the author of Moby Dick - upon joining the Free France Movement during the Occupa...  View article in full

Article - "Jean-Pierre Melville: An Outsider and Proud of It" by James Oliver
Friday 15th June 2007

Jean-Pierre Melville was a combatative man. He had to struggle even to become a director, battling a sclerotic film industry that didn’t want him to join in the fun. His efforts inspired a younger generation but rather than play mentor, he savaged them. Contemporary ...  View article in full

Collections & Lists

This film is part of the following Film Collections

A Beginner's Guide to Nouvelle Vague

Including: Bande à Part, Bob Le Flambeur, Breathless (Godard, 1959), Eric Rohmer: The Early Works, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Jean-Luc Godard Collection (Volume 1), Jean-Luc Godard Collection (Volume 2), Jules et Jim, Last Year in Marienbad, Masculin Feminin.

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This film is part of the following Customer Film Lists

A plan for holiday viewing by Kevin Mullen

As everyone flees the city for the holidays in December I go into seclusion and catch up on some film viewing. I start compiling a list in the autumn and then take to the sofa to indulge in cinematic delights, without distractions, apart from phone calls from friends who are concerned I might be slipping into insanity from over indulgence. These are my thoughts on what to watch this year.

The List that rules them all!!!! by Choosey

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