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.
