High style and smooth jazz on the Cote d’Azur means in Henri Verneuil’s Mélodie en sous-sol (US: Any Number Can Win), we’ve left the world of gritty American noir for good; Jean Gabin’s weathered, middle-aged face contrasts sharply with Alain Delon’s youth and good looks as we watch one French superstar pass the torch to another (to be fair, they would go on to make even more films together). Gabin plays Mister Charles, recently released from prison and looking to retire comfortably overseas with his wife; to make this happen, of course, he’ll need to pull off one final caper, so he recruits young desperado Francis Verlot (Delon) whom he’d met in prison. Verlot travels to Cannes under an alias as a wealthy high-roller and courts Brigitte (Carla Marlier), a dancer at one of the city’s top casinos, where Charles will meet him later to pull off a heist of the casino vault. Louis (Maurice Biraud), Verlot’s naïve, kindhearted brother-in-law, is recruited to drive the getaway car. Michel Magne’s jazz score surprises with moments of halcyon haze, later shifting to screeching strings to heighten the drama to a frenetic level, and cinematographer Louis Page finds plenty of lovely seaside vistas and unexpected camera angles, especially during an elevator shaft sequence, but the greatest thrill is watching two of the coolest actors in French cinema.