Bob Le Flambeur (1956) ***1/2 [Melville UHD Double Shot Pt. 1]

Bob Le Flambeur (aka Bob The Gambler) (1956), director Jean-Pierre Melville's precursor to the French New Wave, is a film that I always feel like I should like a lot more than I actually do. Largely this is due to its reputation as one of the greatest crime films (as well as a favorite film of many directors that I admire). I do like the film (which I’ve seen three times now) a lot, but I prefer the detached cool and slightly grittier edge of Melville’s later film Le Samouraï (1967) (review).

There is a breezy noirish charm to BLF that is undeniably attractive but, for some reason, BLF is a film that just feels long. The sparse narration doesn't add anything to the film and—this is a small critique—the crew assembled for the heist seems unreasonably large. Auguste Le Breton co-wrote the adaptation from Melville's original story. Le Breton collaborated a year earlier on Jules Dassin's Rififi (review), which is a better film with better heist planning and execution scenes.

However, there is plenty to appreciate about BLF. Titular character Bob’s (Roger Duchesne) chummy relationship with the police was unique and influential to future films. An interesting technique used in regards to the music of BLF is that it varies in almost every scene, creating a diverse, if at times jarring, score. The pacing in the second half is more exciting, but there is a sort of “feel-good” ending (avec dialogue delivered straight to camera) directly after the death of a main character that is memorable but kind of odd.

Jean-Pierre Melville Feature Films Ranked