''Any Number Can Win'' (french: Mélodie en sous-sol) is a 1963 French crime drama film directed by

Henri Verneuil Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno Internationa ...

. The film is based on the novel ''The Big Grab'' by .

Plot

Charles comes out of prison after serving five years for attempted robbery. His wife wants him to go legit but he immediately starts making plans for robbing the gambling casino at Cannes. Charles hires two assistants: Francis, a young man whom he met in prison, and Francis' brother-in-law, Louis. Francis is a petty thief discontented with his working-class background, while Louis is a humble mechanic, almost completely honest to a fault. Charles orders Francis to go to the casino ahead of him, create a cover story as an affluent high-roller, and find a means to get access to the backstage, which will be crucial in the route to the elevator shaft that is the sole means to the basement vault in which the casino proceeds are kept. Francis does this by beginning a romance with dancer Brigitte. However, enjoying his affluent facade, he gets so caught up in the wooing of Brigitte he frequently ignores Charles' communications, which almost leads to the robbery being cancelled until Francis assures him he can stick to the intricate plan. Meanwhile, Louis tells Charles he will forgo his share of the money, fearing that he will be seduced by the luxuries it can buy him and that it will lead to more illegal behavior. On the night of the robbery, Francis cavalierly breaks up with Brigitte, but watches her performance. After the show ends, he hides backstage, goes to the casino roof and lowers himself down first into the casino ventilation system, and ultimately the elevator shaft. He penetrates the counting room, subdues the head cashier and his assistants, then lets in Charles, who puts the money in a pair of bags. The two of them leave with a billion francs. Francis hides the money in a swimming pool locker room. The next day Charles unexpectedly sends Louis on a train out of town, and demands to meet with Francis immediately. He shows Francis the front page of the newspaper – there is a photograph with Francis in it, taken the night before as he had been watching the stage show. Charles tells Francis he's too risky, and thus he will leave the resort quickly and send Francis his share later. He orders him to get the bags and return them to him in an outdoor swap near the pool. Francis retrieves the bags, but finds police are everywhere in the pool area, making it difficult to pass the money to Charles, who is waiting at a table. Francis then overhears the cashier telling detectives he remembers the look of the suitcases used to carry out the money. Desperate, Francis places the bags in the pool. One bag breaks open, and Francis and Charles look on helplessly as the money inside floats to the top of the pool.

Cast

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937), '' La grande illusion'' (1937), ''Le Quai des brumes'' ...

: Mister Charles *

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...

: Francis Verlot * Claude Cerval : Commissioner * Maurice Biraud : Louis Naudin *

Viviane Romance Viviane Romance (born Pauline Ronacher Ortmanns; 4 July 1912 – 25 September 1991) was a French actress. Viviane Romance was born in Roubaix, France. She began her career as a dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris and was elected Miss Paris of 19 ...

: Ginette * : Brigitte *

Dora Doll Dora Doll (born Dorothea Hermina Feinberg; 19 May 1922 – 15 November 2015) was a French actress. Career One of her first screen appearances was as Juliette in Henri-Georges Clouzot's ''Manon'' (1949). She appeared as Lola in Jacques Becker's ...

: Countess Doublianoff *

Henri Virlojeux Henri Virlogeux (22 March 1924 – 19 December 1995) was a French actor. He is known for "The 400 Blows" (1959), "Les rois maudits" (1972) and "Schulmeister, espion de l'empereur" (1971). He was married to Véronique Silver. He died on December 19, ...

: Mario *

José Luis de Vilallonga José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

: Mister Grimp * Rita Cadillac : Liliane * : Marcelle *

Jean Carmet Jean Carmet (25 April 1920 – 20 April 1994) was a French actor. Life and career Jean Carmet began working on stage and then in film in the early 1940s becoming a very popular comedic actor in his native country. He is best known internatio ...

: Barman * Jimmy Davis : Sam *

Dominique Davray Dominique Davray (born Marie-Louise Gournay; 27 January 1919 in Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi) ...

: Léone

Production

Screenwriter

Michel Audiard Paul Michel Audiard (; 15 May 1920 – 27 July 1985) was a French screenwriter and film director, known for his witty, irreverent and slang-laden dialogues which made him a prominent figure on the French cultural scene of the 1960s and 1970s. He ...

came upon the novel ''The Big Grab'' by American author Zekial Marko (using the pseudonym John Trinian) through its French publisher

Série noire ''Série noire'' is a French publishing imprint, founded in 1945 by Marcel Duhamel. It has released a collection of crime fiction of the hardboiled detective thrillers variety published by Gallimard. Anglo-American literature forms the bulk o ...

, and suggested adapting the film to producer

Jacques Bar Jacques Bar (12 September 1921, Châteauroux – 19 January 2009, Boulogne-Billancourt) was a French film producer who made more than 80 films. Select credits * ''Branquignol'' (1949) * ''My Seal and Them'' (1951) * ''The Adventures of Mandrin'' ...

. The French-Italian production received significant backing from MGM, who released it in the United States and other territories. The main role of Charles was always intended for Jean Gabin, but the supporting role of Francis was initially planned for

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

. Alain Delon heard about the project and lobbied Bar for the role, saying, "I want to make this film". Delon, gaining a reputation for films made in Italy with director

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...

, was eager to work in lighter projects with wider audience appeal, but the American producers of the film felt that Delon, unlike Gabin, was not well known outside France and Italy, and were opposed to his casting, saying, "If he wants to do the film, let him do it for free". Delon offered a compromise, taking the film's distribution rights in certain countries instead of a straight salary. Because this had never been done before in France, this was known as "Delon's method". The gamble paid off well, with Jean Gabin later claiming that Delon earned ten times more money than him as a result. However, in 1965, Delon claimed "no one else has tried it since and made money".

Reception

''The Washington Post'' called the film "dazzling... one of the best of its kind in years."

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''The New York Times'' said it was one of the ten best films of the year. The Mystery Writers of America gave the film an "Edgar" as the Best Foreign Movie of the year.

Soundtrack

The instrumental jazz score was composed by

Michel Magne Michel Magne (20 March 1930 in Lisieux, Calvados, France – 19 December 1984 in Cergy-Pontoise, Val-d'Oise) was a French film and experimental music composer. Early life He was the fifth child in a family of eight. As young as age five, he ...

. An arrangement of the main title theme was recorded by American musician Jimmy Smith, and released as a single on

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

, which was owned by MGM at the time; it peaked at 96 on both the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online stream ...

and on the Hot R&B Sides chart. Smith later released the album '' Any Number Can Win'' on Verve, which featured his recording of the movie theme with other covers and some original compositions.

Alternate version

A colorized version of the film was created in 1994, and aired on French television in 1996. This version ran 14 minutes shorter, with many scenes truncated but almost none completely removed. Only the black-and-white version received a U.S. DVD release, while most DVD releases in other countries have offered both the complete black-and-white version and the shorter colorized version.

References

External links

* *
Review of film
at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' {{Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1963 films 1963 crime drama films 1960s heist films French black-and-white films French crime drama films French heist films 1960s French-language films Films directed by Henri Verneuil Films with screenplays by Michel Audiard Films with screenplays by Albert Simonin Films set on the French Riviera 1960s French films