Dary tries to impress Moreau with word of Gabin's windfall. But Moreau is cheating on him with local crime lord Lino Ventura, and tells him all. Ventura kidnaps Dary to get him to talk. A frustrated Gabin enlists two favorite gangsters, Paul Frankeur and Michel Jourdan, to make a swap of the loot for Dary's safe return.
Future French moviestar Daniel Cauchy has a small but memorable role as a young, hapless hood treated roughly by Gabin and company.
In between his crime adventures, Gabin romances at least two other women: Delia Scala, the hottie secretary of pensioner-aged fence Paul Oettly; and Marilyn Buferd, who appears more wealthy and elegant than spoiled showgirl Doll.
How others will see it. Touchez Pas au Grisbi translates literally as "Don't Touch the Loot," or more loosely as "Hands Off the Loot!" It is considered the postwar comeback film for Gabin, whose career lost steam after he sat out World War II in the relative safety of the United States.
The script for our present film is clearly superior to the usual gangster effort, but Gabin was the major beneficiary. He picked up a Best Actor win at the Venice Film Festival, and remained a star until his 1976 demise. Jeanne Moreau also went on to became a French icon. Meanwhile, director and co-writer Becker continued in comparative obscurity until his unexpected death in 1960 garnered some recognition for his final film Le Trou.
At imdb.com, the user ratings are both consistent and high, with a slight drop among the independent-minded demographic of women over 45. But the movie wasn't made for them.
How I felt about it. No, Don't Touch the Loot is like paperback detective novels in that its story is a male fantasy. Our cool but tough guy hero is a chick magnet despite being old enough to be their father. He lives in a world of violent double-crossers, yet comes out on top because he keeps his head when trouble arrives.
However, that is a weakness of the genre more than the film itself. Don't Touch the Loot doesn't invent its society, only the specific characters that inhabit it. Some, though, are general stereotypes, like antagonist hood Ventura, willful two-timer Moreau, and naughty Scala, whose romantic interest in Gabin just might correspond to the weight of the suitcases he has brought to the fence. Jourdan is a handsome mug who unreflectively risks his life for Gabin because the latter has paid his restaurant tab.
The underworld for Gabin sorts people into two categories: those who are loyal to each other, and those who would rob their mother if it would fund a night on the town. Ramon (Vittorio Sanipoli) clearly falls into the latter grouping, which is why Frankeur doesn't like him while Ventura does. Perhaps the reason that Gabin is so widely beloved within his circle is that he has been in the first category for so long.