The idea for "Their Last Night" is excellent. A man (Jean Gabin) lives a very ordinary, if not dull, life. He's a librarian, lives in a rooming house and is friends to everyone around him. Everyone sees him as a kind man....and yet this is all a front. His real career is that of a gangster! Keeping this secret isn't easy--especially when a nice lady at the rooming house begins showing him some attention.
Later, he and his partners in crime are attempting another robbery and it is foiled by the police. Gabin says nothing to the police and just bides his time. Soon he and another prisoner are able to escape and he goes to the woman for help. Naturally, being a FILM, she helps him instead of rushing to the police. The second half of the film consists of him hiding and the lady, occasionally, surfacing to help him despite his protests.
While Gabin played in quite a few gangster films over the years, this one has to be the most unusual--or at least in the running! This unusual quality breathed a nice bit of life into the film--making it a truly interesting example of French Film Noir--at least in the first half. As for the second, it's a very standard sort of affair--a criminal hiding out from the police but nothing much more. I'd give the first half of the film an 8 and the second a 6--for an overall score of 7. It's very good but not among the better examples of the genre.
Later, he and his partners in crime are attempting another robbery and it is foiled by the police. Gabin says nothing to the police and just bides his time. Soon he and another prisoner are able to escape and he goes to the woman for help. Naturally, being a FILM, she helps him instead of rushing to the police. The second half of the film consists of him hiding and the lady, occasionally, surfacing to help him despite his protests.
While Gabin played in quite a few gangster films over the years, this one has to be the most unusual--or at least in the running! This unusual quality breathed a nice bit of life into the film--making it a truly interesting example of French Film Noir--at least in the first half. As for the second, it's a very standard sort of affair--a criminal hiding out from the police but nothing much more. I'd give the first half of the film an 8 and the second a 6--for an overall score of 7. It's very good but not among the better examples of the genre.