Touchez Pas au Grisbi (Hands Off the Loot) (1954)

100% of critics liked it
(23 reviews)
84% of users liked it
(1,994 ratings)

This strangely-christened French film noir was released in the U.S. as Grisbi. Jean Gabin stars as a racketeer known by the Runyonesque nickname of Max the Liar. Seeking out the finer things in life, Max intends to pull one last job and retire. After stealing a fortune in gold, our "hero" is faced… More This strangely-christened French film noir was released in the U.S. as Grisbi. Jean Gabin stars as a racketeer known by the Runyonesque nickname of Max the Liar. Seeking out the finer things in life, Max intends to pull one last job and retire. After stealing a fortune in gold, our "hero" is faced with a crisis of conscience when his best friend (René Dary) is kidnapped and held for a huge ransom. Somehow Max manages to turn the tables on the abductors, but his dreams of a life of ease explode in his face. Up-and-coming leading lady Jeanne Moreau plays a pivotal role as the femme fatale who leads Dary into the hands of his kidnappers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Jacques Becker
Written By: Jacques Becker, Maurice Griffe
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1954 Wide
On DVD: Jan 18, 2005
Studio: UMPO

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
It's Gabin's show all the way, anticipating the melancholy, atmospheric gangster pictures of Jean-Pierre Melville that started to appear a couple years later.
Variety Staff, Variety
Jacques Becker, who did such a fine job in painting the turn-of-the-century apache milieu in Casque D'Or, brings the same care and psychological overtones to a film on the modern racketeer element.
Howard Thompson, New York Times
The acting is consistently good. M. Gabin is, of course, an old hand at bland toughness. Rene Dary and Paul Frankeur, as two colleagues; Jeanne Moreau and Dora Doll, as two unlucky ladies, and Lino Ventura and Denise Clair... are sordidly convincing.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
There's not a trace of vanity in [Gabin's] performance.
Janice Page, Boston Globe
Every filmmaker from Francois Truffaut to Quentin Tarantino owes something of a debt to Becker's black-and-white boldness.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
A classic policier.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The film is often confusing, especially during the first half, but Gabin and Ventura are well cast as hoods and Moreau is as appealing as ever as an underworld temptress.
, Time Out
This model French gangster picture set the rules for the great sequence of underworld movies from Jean-Pierre Melville that followed.
Brent Simon, Now Playing Magazine
Undeniably paved the way for like-minded films like Rififi and Bob Le Flambeur. But the fact remains that those descendents did it better.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
The DVD features a fabulous restoration of the movie, new English subtitles and interviews with various actors and filmmakers associated with the movie.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
It's those little character moments, balanced between charm and pathos, that make this film such a winner.
David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune
As ripely Parisian as old (1954) Montmartre.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
A diverting curiosity.
Shawn Levy, Oregonian
If it isn't the best trip you've ever taken to the dark Montmartre of the 1950s, it's nevertheless a real French noir. Irresistible, in other words.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Fifty years later, its trademark jukebox tune (a melancholy harmonica riff) still causes tingles, and its tough, laid-back elegance still seduces.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

danny d

an excellent crime story. gabin plays a solid lead and scala is sexy in her limited role in a film that caught me by suprise. only loosely a heist film, it is fairly similar to much of melvilles great work. im glad i bought the film because i know i will rewatch it many times.
Pierluigi P

There are more worries in the life of a gangster besides money. There's love, loyalty, friendship, and the most implacable killer of all: time itself, the way it undermines and vanishes every human being no matter how strong or resolute he/she used to be. Jean Gabin plays the… More
There are more worries in the life of a gangster besides money. There's love, loyalty, friendship, and the most implacable killer of all: time itself, the way it undermines and vanishes every human being no matter how strong or resolute he/she used to be. Jean Gabin plays the elegant and charismatic Max, an aging criminal mentor who finds his way to retirement full of bumps. After pulling out the heist that Max thought would end up his occupation for good, Max's best friend Riton tells his girlfriend (a very young Jeanne Moreau) about their last job. Unfortunately, this leak of information given by the incompetent Riton leads to his kidnapping by Max's competitor Angelo (Lino Ventura) who will demand their last job's loot for ransom. It will all be decided in a tense and masterfully shot gun battle. An engrossing masterpiece with phenomenal direction, acting and cinematography.
Stella D

this is just an outstanding piece of crime drama and paved the way for many great french gangster films to come, including dassin's rififi and melville's bob le flambeur. jean gabin, making a terrific comeback, is deadly cool as the weary max, out to save his friend and his… More
this is just an outstanding piece of crime drama and paved the way for many great french gangster films to come, including dassin's rififi and melville's bob le flambeur. jean gabin, making a terrific comeback, is deadly cool as the weary max, out to save his friend and his loot from rival lino ventura, in his first film role. an unknown and almost unrecognizable jeanne moreau plays the woman who comes between them. with a fantastic running gun battle as the finale! i adored this more than any of melville's gangster films except perhaps le doulos. this was my first taste of jacques becker and i want more!
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Touchez Pas Au Grisbi" is unlike most other heist films in that it concerns itself solely with the aftermath of a heist and not with the actual crime. Max(Jean Gabin) is a suave, aging criminal who is tiring of the nightlife. He trusts noone except… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Touchez Pas Au Grisbi" is unlike most other heist films in that it concerns itself solely with the aftermath of a heist and not with the actual crime. Max(Jean Gabin) is a suave, aging criminal who is tiring of the nightlife. He trusts noone except for his partner and is weary of everbody. Everything changes when he is followed home from a night club...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Touchez Pas Au Grisbi" gets off to a slow start but is eventually worthwhile, mostly due to Jean Gabin's pitch perfect performance and Jacques Becker's keen direction. The movie's material which includes drug use and plenty of innuendo(not to mention some very interesting paintings) is more mature than I originally expected for a movie made in 1953. That having been said, the movie focuses mainly on the men with the women being treated as windrow dressing or worse.[/font]
Tom S

Very procedural. I feel like this must have had a fair amount of influence on later Melville. But where the procedure humanizes characters here, it usually has the opposite effect in Melville.