Item #: 11676 Category: FRENCH Format: VHS MPAA Rating: PG

Woolly Rating: 5/10 (175 votes)

MEMBER COMMENTS ON THIS VIDEO

Kevin Rayburn

Jun 3, 2002 @ 10:38:45

Highly enjoyable French caper
The "one last score" caper flick genre was an international rage in the '50s and '60s. The French made some of the best, and this is one of them. Think "Bob le Flambeur," "Grisbi" and any number of other good ones the French were making at the time. "Any Number Can Win" (1963) is one of the most consistently enjoyable of these films. Also known under the original title "Melodie en sous-sol" or as "The Big Grab," the film brings back the always cool and watchable stone-faced Jean Gabin, who'd done this sort of thing many times before, as the ex-con who masterminds the last score to retire on. As usual, he's going to hit a beachfront casino resort, with the aid of two other ex-cons, another being the brash young chick-magnet Alain Delon, at his most suave. The slow build up to the heist is as enjoyable as the caper itself, with plenty of good dialogue exchanges, a cool 60s jazzy-loungy score, loads of style, atmosphere and trendy locations, and many bikini clad cuties. The heist has all the tension you'd want, with the most minor slipups threatening to bring the whole thing crashing down. In the end, the old man and the young one make different errors, yet with the same consequences. The bag complication is something the old man failed to plan for. Watch the movie and you'll see what I mean. Today, a heist like this would not be possible due to the camera saturation in casinos, so you have to put it into historic context. The ending is classic and you won't forget it. The movie is shot in beautiful, sharp black and white in a wide 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Director Henri Verneuil, a prolific director of French and Italian minor classics of the 50's and 60's is all but forgotten today. This is a good intro to his work. W&W has two copies of this. Make sure to rent the Vanguard video version which is in wide screen and with an excellent quality print image. *** ANY NUMBER CAN WIN (Melodie en sous-sol) (1963/France) c. 2002 Kevin Rayburn earthgroove1@yahoo.com

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