In the movies, crime might not pay; quite the opposite generally. But it’s a different outcome for the audience – they make their getaway from the experience all the richer with a metaphorical loot-bag of rewards for their eyes, ears and mind – not a bad haul for their viewing efforts. And best of all? No one has to split up the riches! (If I’ve learned anything after watching a lot of crime films I’ve come to appreciate that the divvying up of spoils is so often where things go very wrong)
Okay, I’ll stop before I get arrested for torturing the metaphor any further.
Like many people, I enjoy genre films. The biggest genre out there may be the one that I’ll refer to broadly as crime films. I gravitate towards crime movies in all their varieties: the heist film, the gangster film, prison break film, police procedural and so on. Always popular, they keep coming to the screen year after year.
Why are people drawn to crime films? Maybe similar to horror films, there is some degree of escapism, but also catharsis and perhaps curiosity about how (or if) it will all be resolved by the time the end credits roll. No doubt about it, times are hard right now so maybe it’s the relief that comes after watching the action and telling yourself “Well…at least I’m having a better day than those guys there.” Sure you have spent 23 of the last 24 hours inside but you’re still probably thankful that it’s not you who is on the lam (unless it’s the ever-cool Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in Breathless in which case maybe you wouldn’t mind being them…just for a bit.) 
One thing that draws me to of the films I’m going to look at is that being from the 1950s – 1970s they give me a chance to see the character of cities like Paris and London as they used to be. The era before most urban landscapes became dominated by a glut of global franchises creating a look of sameness.
And just maybe since I haven’t worn anything that includes a collar for over 6 weeks I enjoy a little nattiness on the screen – because I sure don’t see it when I look in the mirror these days. (Although I remain very much unconvinced a fedora has any place in 21st century fashion)
A few weeks ago I took a look at Italian crime films from the 1970’s available on Kanopy. As mentioned, I’ll stick with older films in the crime genre but this time I’ll look at how they do it around the globe. Starting with France which is the headliner here. In that last entry I wrote about how none of the movies being discussed will ever be candidates for a Criterion release. Well, it’s quite the opposite with the French movies. Many of them received the high brow treatment and are in fact available through the Criterion Collection and of course through Kanopy.
Any conversation of French crime films during the 20th century should really start with the king: Jean Pierre Melville. One of my all time favourites, he was born Jean Pierre Grumbach but he took the last name Melville (after his favourite American author) when he joined the French resistance in WWII. He kept the name as he went into the film industry after the war. Inspired by American gangster films of the 30s and 40s he applied the look and feel of those films ( think tough guys in trench coats and fedoras and lots of smoking. Lots.) but paired it with a slower pace, lingering takes and sparse dialogue. I stare in wonderment while his characters deliver their lines with a cigarette continually hanging out of the corner of their mouth while successfully avoiding getting smoke in their eyes. No small feat.
Melville man Lino Ventura telling it like it is. © Criterion Collection
Some of Melville’s films on Kanopy are Le Doulos, Le Samourai, Bob le Flambeur, Un Flic. From this group, I’d start with 1967’s Le Samourai. It’s in colour if – for reasons which I am surely unable to fully comprehend – you don’t like black and white. And it’s got cool as ice, hard as nails Alain Delon in the iconic role as a hitman with the very un-Gallic name Jef (with one F!) Costello. Less is more for Melville’s mostly doomed leading men. While the Italian films had a barely contained seat-of -your-pants kind of manic energy to them, the French genre films tend to me more restrained, brooding and deliberate.
Another French crime film available on kanopy is Touchez pas au Grisbi (Hands off the Loot!) with the great Jean Gabin at his world weary best and young up and comers Lino Ventura and Jeanne Moreau. Here is Roger Ebert’s Two Thumbs up review of it. Just as an aside, watching these movies may very well give you an introductory level knowledge of 1960s French slang: Grisbi = Loot, Flic = Cop, Doulos = Informer, Rififi = Rumble to start.
© 1954 – Les Films Corona
More choices for streaming French crime: Quai des Orfèvres, from 1947 and is the oldest of all the films mentioned here. Reasons you should watch it? One of the main characters is named Jenny Lamour. I could stop there, but should you need more, it’s directed by one of the big names in French suspense thrillers H.G Clouzot. Two of my favourite nail biters from the 1950’s are by him: The Wages of Fear, on Kanopy and Diabolique available from the library when we open up again.
Alain Delon shows up again but this time alongside my main man Charles Bronson as two thieves in the smart, and polished Farewell, Friend ( Adieu l’ami). Bronson went to Europe in the late 60s to make films in hopes he’d finally find celebrated leading man status and this 1968 movie was the start of it all. I could write a whole entry just on the man but will limit myself to this: at age 52 he became the world’s #1 box office attraction after decades in showbiz all in supporting roles. Late Bloomers of the world take note! I can’t Imagine that happening today given Hollywood’s obsession with youth.
Rounding out the list is Max and the Junkmen ( starring the excellent Romy Schneider who deserves to be better remembered) more Bronson! ( Riders on the Rain) even more Delon! (Purple Noon – not so much a crime film – it’s the really great original film version of The Talented Mr. Ripley). And while it’s not on Kanopy, I recommend checking out one of the best bank heist movies of all time: Rififi. There is a reason why the heist scene is so well regarded – it’s famously 30 minutes long and contains barely a sound and not one single word of dialogue. To describe it I need just one word: spellbinding.
The toughest picture ever made in Britain! Source: movieposter.dbcom
And now I will attempt to shoe-horn into the space remaining a few other streaming options for crime films from around the world. England offers up two starring Stanley Baker – The Criminal and Robbery. In the first, he plays a big wig prisoner looking to carry out a huge score after his release (naturally!). Now maybe I have seen too many prison scenes in film and tv but compared to modern precautions such as no shoelaces and no metal cutlery, I question the wisdom of having all prisoners in The Criminal wear neck ties with full access to darts in the break-room. Perhaps access to darts in Britain is considered a human right? What harm could possibly come of sharp projectiles close at hand? So many questions. Robbery has a stellar car chase scene which seems like a dry run for director Peter Yates who would go on a year later to direct Bullitt with Steve McQueen in one of cinema’s best loved high speed pursuits.
Another pinky finger bids farewell
Japan has turned out a ton of great older crime films, many of them available to borrow when we re-open. I’ve become a fan of Kinji Fukasaku’s epic 5 movie series called Battles Without Honor or Humanity. Cops Vs.Thugs is another great one with an even better title (I can imagine the film studio calling Fukasaku and asking “Yeah…that movie you’re making, the one about cops vs. thugs…well the boss wants to know if you’ve come up with a title for it yet?”). As far as available streaming titles, try Takeshi Kitano. Several of his 1990s movies are on Kanopy such as Hana-bi, Violent Cop and Boiling Point.
©EMC Film Corp.
And what about Canada? While we definitely lag behind (way way behind) I can’t leave us out. Two movies that come to mind are The Silent Partner with Elliot Gould and Christopher Plummer from 1978. Until more recently Toronto has rarely played itself on screen, usually standing in for New York or Anycity, USA but in this one Toronto gets a rare early chance to shine. The hills may be alive with the sound of music but here Plummer is far too busy being a truly terrifying bad guy to notice. And Hope to Die really belongs back with the movies from France but it does take place in Quebec with a long foot chase that ends at the famous biosphere from Expo 67. Not much but in 1972 Canadians had to take what came their way if they wanted to see their country up on the screen.
I hope you’ll find a few movies here worth considering – even if it’s just to escape and mentally check out from the cares and worries of that are all too much around us these days.
And with that, I wrap in the appropriately continental way, with a FIN.