(1954) Even gangsters brush their teeth... Jean Gabin’s “Max Le Menteur” and René Dary’s Riton, over-the-hill gangland buddies, have just pulled the heist of a lifetime: 50 million francs in gold bars — enough grisbi (French underworld argot for “loot”) to give them both a cushy retirement. But when Dary’s two-timing moll Jeanne Moreau spills the beans to drug-dealing bad guy Lino Ventura, a bloody gang war ensues, climaxed by a motorized duel with guns and grenades on a deserted country road. The granddaddy of the modern Gallic gangster movie, Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (translation: “Don‘t touch the loot!”) immediately created a market for offspring like Dassin’s Rififi and Melville’s Bob Le Flambeur. Adapted from the seminal 1952 Série Noire novel by Albert Simonin, Grisbi took the gangster saga to new heights of realism by portraying the criminal class as a larcenous subbourgeoisie and introducing authentic underworld slang to screen dialogue. More than a suspense drama set in post-war Paris, Grisbi is a poignant look at friendship, honor and betrayal among thieves. Despite its coolly-staged action scenes, Becker (Casque d’Or, Le Trou, etc.) puts the accent more on characterization and mood, one of its most fondly remembered sequences played out not with guns, but with white wine and foie gras, as Gabin and Dary enjoy a midnight snack (“the best eating scene ever” – Rififi director Dassin) and talk about dames, retirement and old age before heading to the bathroom to don their pj’s, examine their jowls in the mirror, and, oui, brush their teeth. Seventeen years after Pépé Le Moko, Grisbi brought Jean Gabin out of a near-fatal career slump, winning him the Best Actor prize at Venice and marking his decisive change from pre-war Pépé to postwar père, and launched the careers of two future stars: former wrestler Ventura (discovered by Gabin at a match) and screen vamp Jeanne Moreau (years before Malle’s The Lovers and Truffaut’s Jules and Jim). And, with Jean Wiener’s harmonica theme, Grisbi immortalized one of the most haunting of movie melodies, crossing the Atlantic even before the movie did. New subtitles by Lenny Borger, who recently tackled the tough argot of Rififi and Bob Le Flambeur, capture the flavor and irony of Simonin’s crackling dialogue. “Shows what other gangster movies often ignore: that the reason for earning money dishonestly is to live in high style.” – Time Out (London).

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“A wonderful treasure... a major work by the underappreciated Jacques Becker... Unbeatable as a gripping story of loyalty, betrayal and the price of friendship in the Parisian underworld, “Grisbi” not only marks the end of one cinematic era and the beginning of another, it also features memorable performances by two of France’s movie icons, Jean Gabin and Jeanne Moreau.”
– Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times  (Click here to read entire review)

“In Touchez pas au Grisbi, real men eat paté. Consistently surprising.... as
classic and as lived-in as Gabin’s impeccable double-breasted suits. The
movie is, in every sense, a celebration of savoir-faire. I don’t know of (a
gangster movie) with a more complex or a more delicate bouquet.”
– Terrence Rafferty, New York Times (Click here to read the entire article)

“Set the standard for the French underworld crime capers to follow.... The
action is just as vicious as it has to be, and Becker pulls off one
tough-guy surprise after another with masterly soft-shoe storytelling. Best
of all, Gabin’s performance is more than a star turn. He reveals how hard it
is for a gangster to keep up a ‘class act.’”
– Michael Sragow, The New Yorker. (Click here to read the entire review)

• Click here to read Francois Truffaut's review of TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI
• Notes on TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI
• Credits, Cast and Biographies
• An Appreciation of TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI