--- name: "Roger Duchesne" canonical: "https://film.one/person/roger-duchesne" fi1m_id: "roger-duchesne" imdb_id: "nm0239841" tmdb_id: 94603 wikidata_id: "Q3438909" roles: ["Actor"] born: "27 July 1906" died: "25 December 1996" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-25T07:30:29.857995+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Roger Duchesne ## Identity Roger Duchesne - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/roger-duchesne - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** roger-duchesne - **IMDb ID:** nm0239841 - **TMDB ID:** 94603 - **Wikidata ID:** Q3438909 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Duchesne, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3438909, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0239841/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/94603 Actor. Born 27 July 1906 in Luxeuil-les-Bains, Haute-Saône, France. Died 25 December 1996. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 27 July 1906, Luxeuil-les-Bains, Haute-Saône, France - **Died:** 25 December 1996 - **Active:** 1936–1956 - **Also known as:** Роже Дюшен - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Duchesne, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3438909, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0239841/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/94603 ## Fi1m on Roger Duchesne > Roger Duchesne gives a gambler dignity without asking us to mistake him for a good man. His quiet assurance is the chief pleasure of *Bob le Flambeur*, even when the film around him loses its urgency. Roger Duchesne's glances at the cards and handling of a cigarette make Bob's habits seem established before we meet him. In Jean-Pierre Melville's *Bob le Flambeur* (1956), the ageing gambler has a courtliness that never quite makes him respectable. Duchesne gives him assurance without repeatedly drawing attention to it. We can see why someone might enjoy his company without needing to endorse his occupation. He had been playing supporting parts in French films since 1934, among them *Tarass Boulba* (1936) and Sacha Guitry's *Le Roman d'un tricheur* (1936). Melville's decision to put him at the centre of *Bob le Flambeur* gave that restrained manner room to hold a film together. It remains the role by which he is chiefly remembered. There was only one further film, *Marchands de filles* (1957), before he left acting. We felt unexpectedly fond of Bob because Duchesne never pleaded for our affection. His composure lets the character's independence seem attractive without excusing what he does. Melville gets considerable pleasure from watching this man inhabit his nocturnal surroundings, and Duchesne suits a crime film prepared to spend time in company rather than hurry towards the next crisis. The lightness of Eddie Barclay and Jo Boyer's music helps keep that company from becoming too solemn. There is a slightly old-fashioned stiffness to his manner, and the restraint can sometimes look self-conscious. In this particular part, the reserve is useful: Bob would lose much of his appeal if he explained himself at every opportunity. The film's uneven urgency is more troublesome, especially when other characters have to sustain our interest without Duchesne. His assurance cannot do all the work of building dramatic pressure. Start with *Bob le Flambeur* for the pleasure of his company, but choose an evening when a crime film need not keep you tense. ## Biography Roger Duchesne (1906–1996) was a French film actor. He appeared in around 30 films between 1934 and 1957. Duchesne is best remembered for his leading role as the gambler Robert 'Bob le Flambeur' Montagné in Jean-Pierre Melville’s *Bob le Flambeur* (1956). Earlier credits include the part of Serge Abramitch in Sacha Guitry’s *Le Roman d'un tricheur* (1936, also known as *The Story of a Cheat*). He was the first husband of actress Yvette Lebon. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Bob le Flambeur* (1956), Fi1m 76, as Robert 'Bob le Flambeur' Montagné — [page](https://film.one/film/bob-le-flambeur.md) ## Complete filmography (28) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Girl Merchants* (1957), as Gofferi - *Bob le Flambeur* (1956), as Robert 'Bob le Flambeur' Montagné — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/bob-le-flambeur.md) - *Adrien* (1943), as Étienne - *Jeannou* (1943), as Pierre Levasseur - *Le Mistral* (1943), as Philippe - *L'Auberge de l'abîme* (1943), as Jacques Eymard - *The Lost Woman* (1942), as Abbot - *L'Ange Gardien* (1942), as Henri Duboin - *Le moussaillon* (1942), as Pierre - *Cartacalha, reine des gitans* (1942), as 'Le Galéjon' - *Montmartre on the Seine* (1941), as Claude - *Nadia la femme traquée* (1940), as André Varony - *Immediate Call* (1939), Actor - *The World Will Shake* (1939), as Gérard Gallois (uncredited), Gérard Gallois - *Savage Brigade* (1939), as Grand-duc Paul - *Conflit* (1938), as Robert - *Gibraltar* (1938), as Lt. Robert Jackson - *Le Tigre du Bengale* (1938), Actor - *Prison Without Bars* (1938), as Guy Maréchal - *L'Ange du foyer* (1937), as Jacques de Chardin - *The Bureaucrats* (1936), as Chavarax - *The Story of a Cheat* (1936), as Serge Abramitch - *Wolves Between Them* (1936), Actor - *Seven Men, One Woman* (1936), as De Villiers - *Taras Bulba* (1936), as Ostap Bulba - *The Golem* (1936), as Trignac - *Fanfare of Love* (1935), Actor - *Vers l'abîme* (1934), as Roll --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/roger-duchesne