- Bob (Roger Duchesne) is a respectable gambler. Despite his former life of crime, he gets rides from the local police inspector (Guy Decomble). He jokes that he works in "equine preservation", which we realize means that he bets on horses. In fact, he bets on lots of things, often gambling until sunrise, and even keeps a slot machine in his closet. He advises his protege Paulo (Daniel Cauchy) and young friend Anne (Isabelle Corey) to stay out of trouble and chastises the pimp Marc (Gerard Buhr) for his treatment of women. Everybody in the neighborhood knows him, nearly everyone likes him, and anybody can tell you where to find him.
- Bob le Flambeur, which translates best to "Bob the High-Roller" is a film that succeeds perfectly in establishing Bob's character and the ambiance surrounding his life. With Bob, we see the lights and hear the sounds of Montmartre, and the film clearly conveys the sensations of having stayed up all night. Although Bob would never discuss it, we know instantly of his love for Anne, his fatherly affection for Paulo, and the conflict between these two feelings. In fact, Bob is so relatable a character that there is a sense of personal disappointment when he starts planning the "heist of a lifetime". Although it is no surprise that his plans begin to unravel, we regret that Paulo and Anne are responsible and cringe in anticipation of what a botched heist will mean for Bob.
- Jean-Pierre Melville recounted in an interview that he significantly changed his approach to Bob le Flambeur after seeing John Huston's outstanding heist film The Asphalt Jungle. As an unabashed Melville fan, I'd wager (with a two-headed coin) that I would have liked either version, but I'm glad that this choice led to so whimsical and lovable a criminal as Bob. Later movies have succeeded in repackaging other elements of this film, such as the training scene that is now a mandatory part of any heist picture, but no other gang leader has ever come close to being another Bob.
- In a 1970 interview, Melville hilariously claims that the slot machine was in homage, not to the film suggested by the interviewer, but to himself.
- Interestingly, the life of Roger Duchesne seems in many ways to parallel that of Bob since he had drifted into a life of crime and had lived where the movie was filmed.
