20 reviews
BIG SNATCH is an awesome French classic about hold-up with top-notch actors
Charles (a magnificent Jean Gavin) is a mature delinquent recently released from prison . He renounces the plans his wife (Viviane Romance) about a simple and easy life . Charles pretends the perfect robbery recruiting previous cell-mate named Francis (Alain Delon, actor most often used in Verneuil films) . The hold-up is carefully schemed on the vault of Cannes casino in the French Riviera . Meanwhile Francis falls in love with a gorgeous baller dancer (Rita Cadillac). Francis wielding a machine gun and black masked hides himself on the elevator shaft and heads to basement where is the locker room . But the bad luck does the crime gone awry.
This heist movie packs thrills , emotion , romance, extraordinary performances and exciting finale burglary . Sensational acting by two big star names , Gabin and Delon . Strong secondary cast with Viviane Romance as the spouse , Jean Carmet as a barman and the Spanish Jose Luis De Villalonga as a Casino chief . Interesting and thrilling screenplay by the prestigious Michael Audiard based on novel by Zekial Marko . Atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Louis Page . Lively musical score with catching leitmotif composed and conducted by Michael Magne .
The picture is splendidly directed by Henry Verneuil , a Turkish director working in France from the 40s . Although not a director of great reputation among the critics , his movies have almost all been aimed squarely at the commercial market . Verneuil is an expert on heist-genre such as he proved in ¨The Sicilians clan(68)¨ also with Gabin and Delon , ¨The burglars(1971)¨ with Omar Shariff and Jean Paul Belmondo , furthermore on Warlike genre : ¨Weekend at Dunkirk¨ and ¨The 25th hour¨ and even directed one Western : Guns of San Sebastian(68)¨. He seemed to have dropped out of the film-making after 1976 , but in 1981 unexpectedly reappeared with yet another of his caper film : ¨Thousand millions of dollars¨ . Rating : Exceptional and above average, a must see for French cinema lovers and Gavin and Delon fans.
This heist movie packs thrills , emotion , romance, extraordinary performances and exciting finale burglary . Sensational acting by two big star names , Gabin and Delon . Strong secondary cast with Viviane Romance as the spouse , Jean Carmet as a barman and the Spanish Jose Luis De Villalonga as a Casino chief . Interesting and thrilling screenplay by the prestigious Michael Audiard based on novel by Zekial Marko . Atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Louis Page . Lively musical score with catching leitmotif composed and conducted by Michael Magne .
The picture is splendidly directed by Henry Verneuil , a Turkish director working in France from the 40s . Although not a director of great reputation among the critics , his movies have almost all been aimed squarely at the commercial market . Verneuil is an expert on heist-genre such as he proved in ¨The Sicilians clan(68)¨ also with Gabin and Delon , ¨The burglars(1971)¨ with Omar Shariff and Jean Paul Belmondo , furthermore on Warlike genre : ¨Weekend at Dunkirk¨ and ¨The 25th hour¨ and even directed one Western : Guns of San Sebastian(68)¨. He seemed to have dropped out of the film-making after 1976 , but in 1981 unexpectedly reappeared with yet another of his caper film : ¨Thousand millions of dollars¨ . Rating : Exceptional and above average, a must see for French cinema lovers and Gavin and Delon fans.
Excellent entertainment throughout, with a delicious climax
Melodie En Sous-Sol (aka Any Number Can Win) is an enjoyable little caper, but the big trouble is that Time has not been very kind to it. It starts out with puzzled and chunky old Jean Gabin wandering through some then fashionable 1960's modern style streets and buildings accompanied by some brash and hip modern jazz music. And then the olde plot starts: man out of jail goes home and almost immediately tells his wife he's planning One Last Big Job involving the stealing of "about a billion" francs. This turns out to be a meticulously planned op, of the type Mission Impossible did so much better a few years later, and that (and Topkapi etc) was a team affair - however this was planned by Gabin even though Alain Delon seemed to have the lion's share of the work to do.
I bet all those cool swingers of the '60's never would have thought they and their music would date faster than those elegant artistes of the 30's! Favourite bits: Delon's long solo bit bringing the caper to fruition; the predatory Countess Doublianoff calling him no gentleman after he peremptorily dismissed her; the cops strolling by and describing the bags they were looking for - I wanted Delon to mutter something as did Peter Lorre in Arsenic And Old Lace when he thought he was going to be discovered; Gabin's expressionless expression.
Even though you may have seen it all before in films made since this one it was shot in a nice black and white with good acting and good production which holds the attention well - and it's all worthwhile anyway when you get to the delicious last 5 minutes when Delon's and Gabin's feelings were definitely too deep for words!
I bet all those cool swingers of the '60's never would have thought they and their music would date faster than those elegant artistes of the 30's! Favourite bits: Delon's long solo bit bringing the caper to fruition; the predatory Countess Doublianoff calling him no gentleman after he peremptorily dismissed her; the cops strolling by and describing the bags they were looking for - I wanted Delon to mutter something as did Peter Lorre in Arsenic And Old Lace when he thought he was going to be discovered; Gabin's expressionless expression.
Even though you may have seen it all before in films made since this one it was shot in a nice black and white with good acting and good production which holds the attention well - and it's all worthwhile anyway when you get to the delicious last 5 minutes when Delon's and Gabin's feelings were definitely too deep for words!
- Spondonman
- May 3, 2013
- Permalink
Another Great French Heist Movie
After a long period in jail, Charles (Jean Gabin) returns home and does not accept the plan of his wife Ginette (Viviane Romance) of moving to the countryside for a quieter life. He plots the heist of a casino and invites his young cell mate Francis (Alain Delon) and his brother-in-law to participate. The check-in two different hotels posing of millionaire and Charles' plan works perfectly. But when Charles finds that Francis has compromised his plan with a silly attitude, things go wrong.
"Mélodie en sous-sol" is another great French heist movie with Jean Gabin and Alain Delon. The story is well-developed and the ironic conclusion is very tense. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Os Gangsters da Casaca" ("The Gentlemen Gangsters")
"Mélodie en sous-sol" is another great French heist movie with Jean Gabin and Alain Delon. The story is well-developed and the ironic conclusion is very tense. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Os Gangsters da Casaca" ("The Gentlemen Gangsters")
- claudio_carvalho
- Apr 25, 2015
- Permalink
Prototypical Heist Flick
A prototypical heist flick. Old ex-con Jean Gambin is looking for one last score before he retires -- the robbery of a casino on the French Riveria. He enlists Delon, a cocky punk, to help him. Has all of the features: old guy looking for one last score, young active guy who still sort of needs to learn the ropes, complicated heist relying on split second timing, things that go wrong at the last second, unexpected developments, a lot of masquerades, etc. Early on there's some playing around with the notion that Gambin symbolizes a time that is passing, but that isn't really developed, settling down instead to more standard genre fare. Heist is clever and well done, the remake of Ocean's Eleven later stole some of the ideas here. Final shot has that typical Gallic "throw your hands up in despair" kind of thing going for it. Cast is good, with Delon in particular a standout in the kind of role he was meant to play in those years.
- dj_bassett
- Mar 13, 2004
- Permalink
The final caper?
It is well nigh impossible to imagine any other French actor of that time with box office clout who could have played Charles, the ageing, hard-bitten crook nearly as well as Jean Gabin. There is also Alain Delon, the new kid on the block, who was very keen to play the part of Gabin's partner in crime as it would hopefully increase his profile in the United States.
This is Gabin's third collaboration with director Henri Verneuil and has all the hallmarks of Verneuil's style: very little camera movement, good composition of shots and an eye for detail. Louis Page who worked a great deal with Gabin contributes stunning cinematography. I found the score to be rather intrusive but I am probably in the minority. Adapted by Albert Simonin from 'The Big Grab' this has tremendous dialogue by Michel Audiard which is a gift to any actor. Rita Cadillac is rather insipid as the love interest but there is a lovely cameo from Dora Doll as a high class hooker. On a nostalgic level it is great to see Viviane Romance as she and Gabin had first appeared on film together in 1936. The highlight of course is the casino heist which is filmed brilliantly. Slick, professional but rather 'cold' this film will always have an audience because of its subject matter and the two charismatic leads. The final sequence is beautifully edited and absolutely priceless.
This is Gabin's third collaboration with director Henri Verneuil and has all the hallmarks of Verneuil's style: very little camera movement, good composition of shots and an eye for detail. Louis Page who worked a great deal with Gabin contributes stunning cinematography. I found the score to be rather intrusive but I am probably in the minority. Adapted by Albert Simonin from 'The Big Grab' this has tremendous dialogue by Michel Audiard which is a gift to any actor. Rita Cadillac is rather insipid as the love interest but there is a lovely cameo from Dora Doll as a high class hooker. On a nostalgic level it is great to see Viviane Romance as she and Gabin had first appeared on film together in 1936. The highlight of course is the casino heist which is filmed brilliantly. Slick, professional but rather 'cold' this film will always have an audience because of its subject matter and the two charismatic leads. The final sequence is beautifully edited and absolutely priceless.
- brogmiller
- May 20, 2020
- Permalink
9/10
I don't know why this movie is so little-celebrated -- it's terrific. It's so assured. It brings in the worn and smooth Jean Gabin for his last job (of course), and through some exchanges of witty banter gives us some time to get to know him and his wife before introducing his former cellmate, Alain Delon, as the leather-jacketed toughie. They're both excellent here, especially Gabin, who's polite but still certainly in control. He gives a wryness, like a fat Orson Welles, to his performance. The hot-tempered Delon gives a jolt of vitality to the picture. The entire movie is nice and slow, perfectly glamorous, the best of swinging, jazzy '60s cool. In a conventional movie, when Delon is told to seduce a ballerina so he and Gabin can gain a backstage pass to the theater, the courting would have ended with him buying her a drink. But in this film, it lasts for a good half an hour. And it's never boring. Those nice, long sequences explain everything fully. Not the plot, per se, but elements of the plot -- Delon's seducing of the dancer (which he mucks up more than once); Delon's brother-in-law, who in a normal movie would have been nothing but a side character, here is fully-fleshed out; Gabin's wife. And that long, languorous rhythm is what makes the major, lengthy set piece so memorable -- it's where Delon slinks around, slipping up occasionally, climbing up stairs, crawling through a ventilation shaft, and hiding in an elevator (very "Mission: Impossible"), eventually leading to the robbery. And it has one of the best endings to any caper movie that I've seen. 9/10
- desperateliving
- Oct 21, 2004
- Permalink
Water Music
- writers_reign
- Feb 9, 2008
- Permalink
glues you to the screen
- myriamlenys
- May 4, 2019
- Permalink
Verneuil delivers a classic 60's heist movie
Verneuil is quite well-known for his crime / heist movies and delivers again a classic with 'Mélodie en sous-sol'.
Gabin is as solid as ever in his role as a tough heist master and Delon bring its youth and freshness to the movie, linking also the 'old' french movies (including Verneuil and Gabin) with the new generation. (For the anecdote, one year before, Verneuil has also associated Gabin this time with Belmondo, the actor most associated with the New wave movement.)
We definitely have an old time vs current time theme in the movie, illustrated by its first parts. We discover the new Sarcelles with Gabin. The criticism is not formulated by words but is obvious - the more when you know what these dormitory-towns will become. Thus, we follow Delon in his carefree life and I can only smile at the "good old time" referral and the irony behind it. Irony deliberate, already at that time. Irony even better now, that this current time shown in the movie has become a referred "good old time" of our period.
Not to forget Audiard dialogs and punchlines, that brings you smile each time you hear his so characteristic style.
We definitely have an old time vs current time theme in the movie, illustrated by its first parts. We discover the new Sarcelles with Gabin. The criticism is not formulated by words but is obvious - the more when you know what these dormitory-towns will become. Thus, we follow Delon in his carefree life and I can only smile at the "good old time" referral and the irony behind it. Irony deliberate, already at that time. Irony even better now, that this current time shown in the movie has become a referred "good old time" of our period.
Not to forget Audiard dialogs and punchlines, that brings you smile each time you hear his so characteristic style.
- johnpierrepatrick
- Apr 19, 2020
- Permalink
Great French Heist Movie
Absolutely top-notch movie. Great performances from all. Looks like all good heist movies have been inspired by this one here in some sort of way. A full two hours of great movie entertainment without the unnecessary violence that seems to be the norm in most movies nowadays. Look at it in French like I did, with subtitles if necessary. I promise, you will not be disappointed!
- universalwarriorprince
- Jun 20, 2020
- Permalink
Routine
- norbert-plan-618-715813
- May 14, 2022
- Permalink
brilliant
So Gabin out of prison, decides to ride his last score with Francis, played by Alain Delon ... On the way to rob the safe of the Palm Beach, a casino in Cannes.
Melody en sous-sol (the title is already brilliant) with my favorite duo Gabin, Delon. Gabin always made me think of my grandfather, a real man. Delon it has never done better. I love this old French, the 60's, the clothes, the fags, the pick-up, the jazz music and with that a famous story of truants ...
Then we taste Audiard: "You raves not on the sea, it has always been there" To watch again and again .
Melody en sous-sol (the title is already brilliant) with my favorite duo Gabin, Delon. Gabin always made me think of my grandfather, a real man. Delon it has never done better. I love this old French, the 60's, the clothes, the fags, the pick-up, the jazz music and with that a famous story of truants ...
Then we taste Audiard: "You raves not on the sea, it has always been there" To watch again and again .
- mariemounier
- May 15, 2016
- Permalink
Let it simmer
- harry_tk_yung
- May 15, 2005
- Permalink
Nervous and full of tension
An old gangster (Jean Gabin) wants to plan a last robbery before retiring. He asks a young man (Alain Demon) met in jail for a partner. The story may look classical but it's played very fine. The most interesting thing in this movie is the dialogue by Michel Audiard. It's amazing ! As good as ever, so watch this film in french language.
It's also the farewell to an old world which disappears little by little because the time of old gangsters is over. It's also funny to hear the characters talk in french postwar slang language.
It's also the farewell to an old world which disappears little by little because the time of old gangsters is over. It's also funny to hear the characters talk in french postwar slang language.
Cannes heist
One of the greatest French heist movies with MISE A SAC, but not with the same ingredients, involving acting and directing. Both are awesome, only the atmosphere changes. In this Hank Verneuil's movie, the music score contributes to the early sixties charm, enchantment, and I don't even speak of the outstanding Michel Audiard dialogues, chiselled as diamond; No one can forget this terrific ending. The palm beach casino in Cannes is now closed, but each time I walk in front of it, I can't prevent myself to think of this eerie film noir from France, starring the greatest French actors ever. And also notice that several years later, Jean Gabin will again play a retired hoodlum pulling a heist where he will also have an accomplice, who, from the inside, will permit him to get inside and take the money from the vault. This movie will be LE SOLEIL DES VOYOUS and his accomplice won't be Alain Delon but Robert Stack.
- searchanddestroy-1
- Nov 13, 2021
- Permalink
the first Gabin-Delon
Solid heist film, beautiful location
A heist film that follows a lot of the usual formulae, but it features Jean Gabin at 59, Alain Delon at 28, beautiful Cannes, and a jazzy early 60's soundtrack, which all worked. If you ask me, retiring from a life of crime to work at a simple café in the French Riviera with Viviane Romance sounds pretty damn good, but of course Gabin's character wants "one last score." He hooks up with a younger ex-con (Alain Delon), a rather unpleasant, good-looking guy (great casting, eh?) as well as his scrupulous brother-in-law (Maurice Biraud) to form an Ocean's Trois of sorts. Henri Verneuil's direction is methodical in getting us through the caper which I didn't mind too much, though it may feel a little slow to some over its two hours. I wasn't a big fan of the ending, however, as ironic as it was, because the character motivation for the seasoned criminal didn't seem right to me. If you like heist films though, this is a solid one.
- gbill-74877
- Aug 30, 2024
- Permalink
great heist film!
This film deserves more credit than it gets. All the actors are top notch (Jean Gabin as the ageing theif, Alain Delon as the playboy) and the story is very well crafted and has all the great tough guy dialogue of great caper's like RIFIFI, BOB LE FLAMBEUR etc however the overall tone of the film is a bit lighter and not as serious as those films. the heist itself is pretty short and sweet but this movie is more about the planning and the aftermath.
Another great thing about this picture is that even though it's black and white, it's still widescreen adding a nice touch to the look of the film. The only drawback to the DVD is that the picture is quite soft and blurry but for a film of this age and obscurity beggars can't be choosers! Another must see for heist fans (like me!)
Another great thing about this picture is that even though it's black and white, it's still widescreen adding a nice touch to the look of the film. The only drawback to the DVD is that the picture is quite soft and blurry but for a film of this age and obscurity beggars can't be choosers! Another must see for heist fans (like me!)
Gabin, Delon...
For a part of public, the actors are the lead motif to see it. for other, the plot, reminding Ocean Eleven. a French Heist movie, good performance of Delon, same Gabin in inspired use of the nuances of character and the perfect end. nothing new at first sigh. in fact, the old flavors are the lead motif for see a film about a hold -up, its levels and portraits of men inside it.
- Kirpianuscus
- Jun 28, 2018
- Permalink
The skillful,efficient,sly Gabin takes to task his young associate
Verneuil made a nice,rather banal career with decent,unambitious "american movies" like this one,and also he became almost respected.I grant this was,anyway,somehow better,and surely more entertaining than his previous,French-populist phase.I guess I have seen some 8 of his films (Le Mouton a Cinq Pattes,Des gens sans importance,Un singe en Hiver,Mélodie en sous-sol ,Le Clan Des Siciliens,Le Serpent ,I Comme Icare,Les Morfalous );I grant some of them are rather good;I do not consider them extraordinary. But I think no one does.
I've seen I Comme Icare when I was 12 years,in '90.I've liked much Le Serpent .
"Melodie ..." is well-paced,sympathetic,clean,honest,and,above all, suspenseful.All it has to offer are its two leads,and that's not little.
Don't expect Ocean's Eleven ,yet.
Gabin has a honorary role in "Melodie ...",and not only his,but all the roles are simply epic conventions--no characterization at all.
I've seen I Comme Icare when I was 12 years,in '90.I've liked much Le Serpent .
"Melodie ..." is well-paced,sympathetic,clean,honest,and,above all, suspenseful.All it has to offer are its two leads,and that's not little.
Don't expect Ocean's Eleven ,yet.
Gabin has a honorary role in "Melodie ...",and not only his,but all the roles are simply epic conventions--no characterization at all.
- Cristi_Ciopron
- Aug 23, 2006
- Permalink