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It was just a couple months ago that the Music Box screened a new print of Godard's Band of Outsiders, a rarely-shown French crime film of the '60s.Now, it repeats the favor, this time with Bob le Flambeur, a rarely-shown crime film of the '50s. Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville (Le Samourai), the movie focuses on a high-rolling gambler named Bob (played with exquisite elegance by Roger Duchesne).

Bob used to be a con man and thief, and indeed he served time for a bungled bank robbery. But he's apparently gone straight and now spends all of his waking moments floating from poker games to the horse track to the casino. When he's not gambling, which is rare, he hangs out with an old safecracking buddy named Roger (Andre Garret) and a young con man named Paulo (the spunky Daniel Cauchy) who idolizes Bob.

Despite Bob's unsavory past and friends, he has a strong code of ethics, which manifests itself when he refuses to help a local pimp named Marc and goes out of his way to rescue a beautiful young girl that Marc has targeted. Anne (Isabelle Corey) is more impressed with Bob's wealth than his sense of decency, however, which leads to complications when Paulo and then Marc fall in love with her.

Also complicating Bob's life is a vicious losing streak. So when he hears that a local casino has 3,000,000 francs on hand, he gets the idea for one last big score. Unfortunately, Bob le Flambeur trips over the same stump that catches many heist movies. After setting up a wonderful set of characters and relationships, the movie suddenly ignores those and instead focuses on the preparations for the big score. That's nowhere near as interesting, though the film does have a great pre-heist sequence in the casino as Bob gambles one more time.

Bob le Flambeur also has great style. The cinematography by Henri Decae (Purple Noon) is stunning. His exploration of Montmarte at night is just breathtaking. Also breathtaking is Isabelle Corey, who was born to wear the tight sleeveless top she inhabits for much of the movie. Unfortunately, Corey isn't a particularly strong actress (insouciance is her only expression), but Duchesne, Garret and Cauchy make up for it. Duchesne is particularly good as Bob, a man who knows what he used to be and feels strangely drawn back to it.

Bob le Flambeur isn't as good or as interesting as Band of Outsiders, but it's solid entertainment told with flair or, as the French would say, joie de vivre.   

J. Robert Parks 2/4/2002