Bob le flambeur

Bob le flambeur centers on Bob Montagne, a middle-aged former gangster and compulsive gambler living in Paris's Montmartre district. Having once served time for a robbery, he now finds himself deep in financial trouble. When a friend who works as a croupier tells him that the Deauville casino is most vulnerable in the early morning hours, Bob decides to plan one last, grand heist. He assembles a crew of old associates, including his young protégé Paolo, and carefully prepares the job, but the scheme does not unfold as he intends.

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, who co-wrote the screenplay with Auguste Le Breton, this black-and-white 1956 film is regarded both as a film noir and as a forerunner of the French New Wave, thanks to its handheld camerawork and location shooting made necessary by its tiny budget. Roger Duchesne stars as Bob, alongside Isabelle Corey and Daniel Cauchy.