Myriam Nys

I notice that I've been reviewing a lot of heist movies. I think it would be nice to continue the series by reviewing an old black-and-white heist movie from France.The movie tells the tale of a humble ticket puncher on the French subway, who fights boredom by thinking up schemes and plots. This time he has written a crime novel about a daring heist, situated in the French subway. Sadly enough his manuscript is roundly ridiculed or ignored by editors. (We've all been there...) Would an audience of professional criminals be more receptive to this literary gem ?There were at least two things I loved about the movie : the cleverness of the heist and the interplay between two great comedic actors, to wit Bourvil and Paul Meurisse. Meurisse is especially good : his stylish, self-confident gentleman criminal is riveting. Aah, Meurisse - who else could cajole, threaten, intimidate with such suave eloquence, such princely certainty ? Moreover, the movie contains quite a few clever digs about the world of aspiring authors, editors, publishing houses... The ticket puncher has used both his meticulous powers of observation and his many years of professional experience in order to write a realistic plot about a heist ; the result is that he gets rejection letters condemning his "far-fetched fantasies". These, presumably, are the very same editors who would publish a book in which a twenty-years old starlet explains how she married a ninety-years old billionaire because she was dazzled by his charming personality and his rugged good looks... Having said this, the movie is not without its weaknesses. The story is not as tight or consistent as it should be. Moreover, I took a dislike to our humble ticket puncher, who went out of his way, deliberately, to contact gangsters and then became all shy and virginal when the said gangsters told him that they were interested in his proposal. I'm not too fond of persons who are dishonest even about their dishonesty, and this dislike extends to fictional characters. Still, "La grosse caisse" is well worth a watch.

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