A seasoned Jean Gabin is at the top of his form in this 1954 gangster thriller from director Jacques Becker. A forerunner to French New Wave crime classics from Godard and Truffaut, the unabashed ruthlessness of underworld life is blended elegantly with a mature comprehension of its perils. "Touchez Pas Au Grisbi" (literally "Don’t touch the loot") is distinctively crafted, masterfully performed and visually polished. Becker ("Le Trou"), who died too young in 1960 at age 54, worked under Jean Renoir on several films including the great "Grande Illusion" and the influence shows.

When Becker cast a middle-aged Gabin, his career in a slump, as Max Le Menteur, he likely realized it was an excellent choice over the other much younger actors considered for the role. In a perfect match of player and part, Gabin strikes a balance between dandy and desperado. Max and pal Riton have pulled off a large, maybe last, heist, and now must run the even greater gauntlet of fencing the gold and keeping the money from slipping away to hungry, less honorable rivals. Featuring a young Jeanne Moreau in a secondary but key role as club dancer Josy, she’s purely decorative and blows with the wind, following the man who has the most to offer. She’s been tethered to Riton, affectionately called porcupine by Max, but has become bored with him and is moving on. Riton finds her tiresome in return but it takes Max finesse as a go between to help him see it. Moreau is fresh and feisty as Josy, who knows how to use what she’s got.

As much as it’s a good gangster film, it’s even better as a tale of long-standing friendships, surviving, and acceptance of middle age. The bonds forged by shared history are numerous. They are present in the bittersweet, loyal fondness of Max for Riton, among the regulars at Madame Bouche’s bistro, in the old liaison with nightclub owner Pierrot, and his wife Marinette, (played by Gaby Basset, Gabin’s former wife). She pitiably asks Max to bring her husband back from the dangerous rendezvous for the loot, saying that she’s almost 50, and its too late to start again, a sentiment not lost on Max.

Smooth operator Max has been around the block and has some things figured out. He’s gained a place of honor, or at least of respect, in the world he moves in, even among his enemies. On another level, he’s fooling himself into believing he’s different from Riton and the others. Max has an elegant ladyfriend, swell clothes, and a choice hideaway stocked with champagne and pate. He wants the same things; to salt away enough money to enjoy life.

Based on the runaway best seller by Albert Simonin, who co-wrote the screenplay, the dense slang-filled dialog was abridged for the film, and the relationships are given more weight than the plot. As in the best of classic film noir, the black and white cinematography in a thousand shades of gray, casts a spell that too vivid Technicolor could never capture.