Speaking of Murder (1957) User Reviews (7)

Guys and Dolls.

[brogmiller · 7/10 · 29 June 2020]

The life of novelist Auguste le Breton would make a fascinating film in itself especially his involvement with the French Resistance. His early life however spent in the underworld of Montmartre has given his crime novels an accuracy and authenticity that is only matched by those of Jose Giovanni. The characters that both these authors have portrayed with their particular 'argot' and ambiguous code of honour are a source of endless fascination to film-makers and film goers.

Jean Gabin and Lino Venura had filmed 'Touchez-pas au Grisbi' three years earlier for Jacques Becker. Here they are again in the fourth of twelve films that Gabin made with director Gilles Grangier over a fifteen year period. Gabin's character here is a variation of Max in Becker's film in so far as he is a gentleman crook who gets involved in one heist too many whilst Ventura again plays a trigger-happy thug. Annie Girardot's special talent enables her to rise above a rather thankless role as the girlfriend of Marcel Boffuzzi whose iconic role was in 'The French Connection'. There are indeed a few 'connections' here worth noting. Ventura reached the summit of gangsterism in Giovanni's 'The Second Breath' for Jean-Pierre Melville whilst both he and Gabin came full-circle in le Breton's 'Sicilan Clan' for Henri Verneuil.

Gilles Grangier is certainly no match for either of those directors but the pacing here is good and the performers hold our interest. Louis Page, who worked many times with the great Gabin, contributes his customary razor-sharp cinematography. The last half-hour is gripping and the final scene terrific.

Gangsters from Paris

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 15 September 2023]

In Paris, Louis Bertain (Jean Gabin) is the owner of a legitimate garage business, but secretly is the chief of a gang of thieves composed by the sadistic Pepito (Lino Ventura); the coward Frédo (Paul Frankeur); and Raymond, the sailor (Jean Bérard). Louis is a bon-vivant that lives with his mother Ms. Bertain (Gina Niclos) and his young brother Pierre (Marcel Bozzufi), who is a small-time forger that is on probation. When Pierre visits his girlfriend in Paris, the easy manicurist Hélène (Annie Girardot de la Comédie Française), he breaks his parole and the police tries to force him to become an informer, but Pierre declines the offer. While planning the next rob with Pepito, Louis notes that Pierre has overheard their conversation, but Pierre denies. The robbery goes awry, with two murders, and the police arrest Louis that finds who has denounced them. But Pepito believes Pierre did and is hunting him down.

"Le rouge est mis" (1957), a.k.a. "Speaking of Murder" is a great French gangster movie. The excellent Jean Gabin is perfect as the respected chief of a gang that believes in loyalty and is betrayed by one of his gangsters that the psychopath Pepito had advised that should have been killed since he is a coward man. The plot has a female fatale, Hélène; therefore, it may be considered a neo-noir. The beauty of Annie Girardot is impressive. The pace, the running time and the conclusion are perfect for the story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Gângsteres de Paris" ("Gangsters from Paris")

Tough Guys Fall Out

[boblipton · 7/10 · 1 July 2023]

Jean Gabin's front is a garage, where he keeps most of the tools for his gang of armed robbers. Despite the large sums they steal, they can't get ahead; Gabin needs expensive lifts for his garage, his overseas investments fail, button man Lino Ventura's tips on the horses don't pan out, and investments in stocks and commodities..... well, sometimes it seems as if no one is honest but Gabin, who is scrupulous about sharing the take.

He's also got family troubles: his brother, Marcel Bozzuffi, has done time, and on parole can't come into Paris to see his girlfriend, Annie Girardot. He does, anyway, which gets him in further trouble, especially with Gabin, who tells him to cut her off.

It's co-written by Auguste Le Breton from his own novel, about the twisted, confusing, dying world of the apaches, their codes and their failures. It's swiftly directed by Gilles Grangier, whose frequent casting of Gabin kept him working for many years. It's a good raw-meat policier, with an excellent cast.

A famous french gangster film.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 17 February 2008]

This is a great gangster film, adapted from a Auguste Le Breton novel, author of "Rififi" and "The Siciian Clan".

And, more, the main characters are played by great actors: Jean Gabin and Lino Ventura - who was not still a big star, as Marcel Bozzufi and Annie Girardot, who also play in this movie.

The tale of struggle which occurs among a gang of bank robbers. The leader - Jean Gabin - has his young brother who is suspected, by his own henchmen, to be a police informer. And this will be the beginning of the end for the team. My favourite scene is when Jean Gabin's character seems to seduce the gorgeous Annie Girardot only to slap her because he doesn't want her to date his young brother. That's a so unusual situation, so is the relation between Gabin and his old mother.

A simple, solid and effective story, fast paced. Not boring at all. No length.

An unhealthy interest in parasites

[tony-70-667920 · 7/10 · 11 January 2021]

"Le Rouge est Mis" has so much going for it: a top-notch cast, an excellent but under-rated director and two top writers, Michel Audiard and Auguste ("Rififi") Le Breton. It's an adaptation of the latter's novel, and he knew the underworld, which he wrote about almost exclusively, having been involved in it before WW2. His real surname was Monfort, but having adopted Le Breton as a nom de plume it's no surprise that he peppered his tales with similar nicknames, most notable being "Bob le Flambeur", filmed by J.-P. Melville. Here Gabin is Le Blond, Ventura is Le Gitan, and we also get Le Matelot and L'Americain. Presumably it's common in that milieu. This film is undeniably gripping, but certain aspects prevent it from being satisfying. There was some lazy stereotyping: the gypsy is ultra-violent, a homosexual is portrayed as a mincing caricature and Annie Girardot's character, a manicurist who wants more from life, is dismissed by Le Blond as a "slag." There are also holes in the plot. Paul Frankeur (so good in Grangier's "Reproduction Interdite") plays a man whose inside knowledge facilitates the gang's heists: why is he taken along on the jobs when he doesn't play any part, apart from being a bag of nerves? Why is Gabin (53 and looking older) still living with his old mum? Why, when Ventura is sure Gabin's brother (Bozzuffi) has betrayed the gang to the police, doesn't Gabin just tell him who the real traitor is? The cynical answer is "Because then there'd be no final shoot-out." And finally, when Gabin falls outside Girardot's apartment block does he somehow crash onto the next landing rather than plummeting several storeys down the stairwell ? None of this made any sense. My main objection, though, is to the way Le Breton, like Jose Giovanni, perpetuates the myth of the honourable gangster. That's how Le Blond is portrayed, yet apart from the obligatory anger scene (was one in Gabin's contract for each film?) he remains impassive. Even when Ventura kills three and wounds two in the final robbery Gabin doesn't bat an eyelid. Like all criminals Le Blond is amoral and a parasite, so why should an audience care if he lives or dies? The French have an unhealthy interest is such sordid types.

Brotherly love and honor among thieves

[adrianovasconcelos · 9/10 · 4 November 2020]

I am an avid film noir watcher but I had never heard of LE ROUGE EST MIS. As it turns out, I am extremely happy that I got to see it because I would include it in my list of top 25 films noir ever, including other French masterpieces like DU RIFIFI CHEZ LES HOMMES, TOUCHEZ PAS LE GRISBI or BOB LE FLAMBEUR, and US counterparts like OUT OF THE PAST, MURDER, MY SWEET, THE KILLERS and GUN CRAZY, to mention just the crème de la crème.

As ever, Gabin provides a solid menacing performance as Louis the Blond. He is the brains in an operation which has a familt restaurant as the façade, but which orchestrates bank and other robberies in the Paris area.

He is ably assisted by the ruthless Lino Ventura and the rather soft Paul Frankeur, who turns out to be one of the weakest links in Gabin's robbery chain. He is not the only one, though.

Gabin's beloved brother, played by Marcel Bozzuffi, has the lovely Annie Girardot as his girlfriend, and he makes the mistake of spilling the beans to her, with serious consequences for the gang.

The luscious, leggy Girardot is visually stunning, but her performance is equally memorable. The sequence in the cab with Gabin, followed by their stroll in the Bois the Boulogne, deserves the highest plaudits.

A special word for the lady who plays Gabin's and Bozzuffi's mother, a delight of discretion. She wonders how Gabin keeps his restaurant afloat, unaware of his criminal exploits. Her love for her sons cannot translate into words, and the sequence where she follows her son to the interrogation room in the precinct, and sees her son flee, is masterly.

First class B&W cinematography, credible script based on a novel by Auguste Le Breton with razor-sharp dialogue, and Director Grangier is in the best form I have seen from him, and I've watched easily some 15 of his films.

Strongly recommended.

good gangster movie from France

[myriamlenys · 8/10 · 23 May 2020]

A criminal gang plans and executes daring heists and robberies. While it gives the impression of being a professional, well-oiled team, cracks are beginning to show : not everyone can deal with the fear, the stress, the secrecy. Moreover, one of the gang members has a younger brother who suffers from an unfortunate tendency to show up at the most inconvenient moments. Unsurprisingly, this does not improve things...

Well-directed, well-written and well-acted, "Le rouge est mis" is a tense and suspenseful gangster movie. It is as sharp, lethal and polished as the dagger of an Italian Renaissance assassin. A very young and very beautiful Annie Girardot provides a subtle eroticism. The violent finale, set in a stairway hall, is a classic : watch it and admire.

There's also a black sense of wit at work. At one point in the movie, the gang members need to change vehicles quickly in order to escape. And escape they do, in a vehicle especially adapted for agricultural purposes. While doing so they transport a real live cow...

Many of the actors involved would have long and productive careers. Viewers who like to see Gabin and Ventura team up once again in a good gangster movie, can watch "Le clan des Siciliens" (The Sicilian clan). Girardot too would do very well, becoming one of the major female stars of the sixties and seventies.