IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

In the decade following World War II, a dark, cynical mood crept into Hollywood cinema which expressed itself in fatalistic crime films and pessimistic melodramas that would later come to be labeled “film noir.”  Dark classics such as Double Indemnity (1944), Detour (1945), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), Out of the Past (1947), In a Lonely Place (1950), and the Asphalt Jungle (1950) appeared alongside dozens of lesser-known, but often just as entertaining, entries.  However, during the latter half of the 1950s, the production of dark crime films slowed considerably, and most critics consider this the end of the classic film noir period.  Lucky for noir aficionados, around the time Hollywood noir was winding down, French noir came into bloom, due in large part to the popularity of Jacques Becker’s film Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (1954).

Becker’s film stars the great Jean Gabin as Max, a world-weary, middle-aged gangster who is fed up with the mob lifestyle.  Rather than staying out drinking and carousing, Max just wants to go to bed; and ultimately, he longs to retire.  To finance that goal, Max and his old pal Riton (René Dary) have secretly pulled off a robbery of eight gold ingots.  Unfortunately, eternal screw-up Riton lets the secret slip to Josy (Jeanne Moreau), his flighty, gold-digging “girlfriend.”  She, in turn, passes the secret along to a younger, rival mobster, Angelo (Lino Ventura), who she is seeing on the side.  When Angelo kidnaps Riton as leverage to get his hands on the gold, Max must decide between his loyalty to his best friend and a comfortable retirement.

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi roughly translates to Don’t Touch the Loot, which seems a rather silly title for a story that is actually a rather sober, quiet, and serious drama.  There is “loot” involved, of course, as well as the requisite violence expected in a crime film, but the film is more about quiet moments and the loyalties between old friends.  It is really the quiet, almost lethargic atmosphere that sets Grisbi apart from other noir crime movies.  The film withholds the actual gold heist and the potential drama involved from the audience’s view.  Instead, the focus is placed on quiet moments between middle-aged criminals, such as planning tactics while sipping expensive Champagne and eating pâté or on the evening ritual of putting on silk pajamas and getting ready for bed.  It doesn’t sound nearly as enthralling as it plays out on the screen.

American crime films were popular in France, and Touchez Pas Au Grisbi was not the first time that the French motion picture industry attempted a home-grown noir.  However, previous French crime films had simply been imitations of their American counterparts.  What made Grisbi different was that it was a French film throughout.  An American film of the time would not have been as quiet and contemplative in the way it told its story, it could not have been as frank with its sexual content, and it certainly wouldn’t feature pâté-eating gangsters.  French audiences adored this identifiable content, and they made Touchez Pas Au Grisbi a huge box office hit.

Jean Gabin is fantastic here, with a “less is more” performance that only serves to make his sporadic sparks of temper more effective.  The film revived Gabin’s flagging career.  It also served as a launching pad for wrestler-turned-actor Lino Ventura.  Ventura is magnetic in his first performance on film, and it is easy to see why he became a fixture of French film (and a frequent co-star of Gabin) in the years that followed.

As with the best examples of film noir, there is a shroud of fatalism and futility that hangs over Touchez Pas Au Grisbi.  However, while the film is both deliberately paced and downbeat, it is solidly entertaining throughout.  Grisbi inspired many imitators, and along with Rififi (1955), and Bob Le Flambeur (1956), it ushered in a golden age of French films noir.  If you are a fan of the American noir classics that inspired Touchez Pas Au Grisbi, or if you love the Sixties and Seventies noir films of Jean-Pierre Melville that Grisbi inspired, you owe it to yourself to watch this important stepping stone.

France/B&W-96m./Dir: Jacques Becker/Wr: Jacques Becker, Maurice Griffe, and Albert Simonin (based on the novel by Albert Simonin)/Cast: Jean Gabin, René Dary, Jeanne Moreau, Paul Frankeur, Lino Ventura, Dora Doll, Michel Jourdan, Daniel Cauchy, Denise Clair, Marilyn Buferd, Lucilla Solivani, Paul Œttly, Delia Scala

For Fans of: If you love American noir, but haven’t sampled the French variety, Touchez Pas Au Grisbi is a great place to start.  Open a bottle of Champagne, spread some pâté on some crusty bread, sit back in an easy chair, and enjoy.

Video: Kino Lorber Studio Classics recently released a Touchez Pas Au Grisbi [Blu-ray] using the same StudioCanal video master that was previously used for Region B Blu-ray releases in Europe.  The Black & White image is free of speckles, scratches, and other types of debris, but it is also lacking in film grain (which makes one wonder if a sharper image might have been drawn from a new scan).  Still the picture quality is brighter and sharper than the prior Criterion DVD, so fans of the film are encouraged to upgrade to the Blu-ray.

The Blu-ray also contains some nice special features:

• A new audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton
• Interview with director Jean Becker, son of Jacques Becker, who was present during the filming of Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (13:59)
• Interview with actress Jeanne Moreau, which appears to have been filmed to accompany a television broadcast of Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (4:50)
• Interview with professor/film critic Ginette Vincendeau, regarding director Jacques Becker’s relationship with the directors of the French New Wave, as well as her thoughts on the film and the novel that inspired it (7:46)
• The original theatrical trailer
• Bonus trailers for Port of Shadows (1938), Razzia sur la chnouf (1955), Maigret Sets a Trap (1958), Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959), and The Sicilian Clan (1969)
• Optional English subtitles for the main feature

Streaming: Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (1954) was not available on any of the major streaming services at the time this review was written.

More to Explore: Jean Gabin and Lino Ventura re-teamed the following year in Razzia Sur La Chnouf, a crime film centered around the French drug trade, which was also released recently from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Trivia: Lino Ventura became a giant in French cinema after his film debut in Touchez Pas Au Grisbi, but his acting career was completely accidental.  Ventura had been a middleweight wrestling champion, but his career was ended due to an injury.  Acting was an unexpected second act to his life.  Grisbi was really a second chance for both Gabin and Ventura.

For more info: For an overview of the life and career of Jean Gabin, you can’t do better than Jean Gabin: The Actor Who Was France by Joseph Harriss.  Also FrenchFilms.org is an excellent resource to exploring French cinema in all of its aspects.