Honour Among Thieves

Jacques Becker's Touchez Pas au Grisbi occupies a significant part in French cinema history. Max (Jean Gabin) and Riton (René Dary) are two ageing gangsters who manage to pull off their final heist, a spectacular gold bullion robbery at Orly airport. All is well until Max's former girlfriend Josy (Jeanne Moreau) tips off a rival gangster, Angelo (Lino Ventura). The latter kidnaps Ritton and threatens to kill him unless Max hands over the spoils from his robbery. Helping to birth the French policier, a European transposition of the fantastic American gangster films of the 1940s, Touchez Pas au Grisbi exerted a huge influence on subsequent directors such as Jean-Pierre Melville. (StudioCanal UK)