Monsieur Gangster (1963)

☆ ☆ ☆

Monsieur Gangster (1963) – G. Lautner

French gangster spoof that finds Lino Ventura (best known for his later appearances in Melville’s Army of Shadows and Deuxieme Souffle) unexpectedly inheriting a crime syndicate from an old friend that comes with the obligation to look after the friend’s teen daughter.  This is the kind of role that De Niro might take on, a tough guy who plays for laughs but maintains a straight face. Of course, the teenager causes all sorts of trouble, as do the underbosses of his old friend who wish to run the business themselves.  So, there are some broadly comic moments (as when Ventura takes to punching the deliciously put-out Bertrand Blier every time he sees him) and some action sequences (some shoot-outs).  But apparently something is lost in translation for the English-language viewer because this film is much loved in France specifically for its clever dialogue by Michel Audiard; the subtitles do show some unusual phrasing but nothing that leaps out to make you laugh.  One scene where the gangsters reminisce about the old days while drinking moonshine was funny anyway and probably was hysterical to French-speakers.  In the end, I was hoping for a bit of a Grisbi type picture but instead I got a situation-comedy that nevertheless evokes some of the genre.