Apparently this film is not very known for cinema goers and stuff, I certainly only heard of it when I saw it listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, so I had to see if it was one that may deserve more recognition. Basically Robert 'Bob' Montagné (Roger Duchesne) is an old well dressed gangster who has a nice apartment, two-toned convertible coupe and he respects the police, but his big problems is a compulsive love for gambling. On a losing streak he is considering a last job in the Montmartre district of Paris, he overhears that the Deauville Casino holds unimaginable quantities of money and is vulnerable during morning hours. Bob develops the scheme to steal the fortune, and he brings in a safe cracker and a few other underworld characters to help out, and at the same time the middle aged ex-con becomes involved with young Anne (Isabelle Corey), who has no place to live and stays with any man who will have her. Bob's friend and partner in crime Paolo (Daniel Cauchy) trusts the young woman when they spend some time together, he even tells her the robbery plan, and she betrays the gang on the night the heist is planned, unaware it was meant to be secret, and she tells pimp turned informant Marc (Gérard Buhr). Marc was going to tip off Inspector Ledru (Guy Decomble), who Bob saved the life of, about the robbery, but he is killed by Paulo before giving away the big details, and the police officer warns the gangster off the job. The man inside the casino, Jean the croupier (Claude Cerval), has also tipped off the police, and to occupy himself before any heist Bob gambles a winning streak inside the casino. He has ironically got a large enough fortune with his winnings, and when his friends arrive, as well as the police, there is a shoot out, where Paulo is shot, and he is finally arrested. Bob was able to stash his hundreds of chips inside Ledru's car, and he remarks the possibility he will get off lightly and be able to sue the police for damages, while lonely Anne waits for him at his place. Also starring André Garet as Roger, Howard Vernon as McKimmie and Colette Fleury as Suzanne. Duchesne gives a good performance as the gloomy and addictive risky gangster with a good poker face and all the moves, I did not notice many funny moments, but the story that is similar to Ocean's Eleven was quite good entertainment, and the gambling scenes are interesting too, a watchable crime comedy drama. Vey good!
Review of Bob the Gambler
