Cartouche (film)

Cartouche
Cartouche
Directed by	Philippe de Broca
Written by	Daniel Boulanger; Philippe de Broca; Charles Spaak
Produced by	Georges Dancigers; Alexandre Mnouchkine
Starring	Jean-Paul Belmondo; Claudia Cardinale
Cinematography	Christian Matras
Edited by	Laurence Méry-Clark
Music by	Georges Delerue
Distributed by	Films Ariane/Filmsonor Productions/Franco London Films; Embassy Pictures (USA)
Release date	March 7, 1962;
Running time	114 minutes
Countries	France; Italy
Language	French
Box office	3,610,412 admissions (France)

Cartouche is a 1962 French adventurer film directed by Philippe de Broca and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Claudia Cardinale.^[2]

Plot

In the 18th century, Louis Dominique Bourguignon works with Malichot's gang, but finds their methods too unethical. He flees from Malichot and joins the army, where he and his two new friends survive by hiding on the battlefield. Together, they rob the general of his gold. Fleeing, they seek refuge at an inn where they meet Venus, a beautiful gypsy who has been taken prisoner. Bourguignon rescues her and she joins his gang.

Returning to Paris, Bourguignon establishes his own gang, operating under the name Cartouche, with many former members of Malichot's gang joining him. They conduct daring robberies targeting the wealthy and redistribute the stolen wealth to the poor. Cartouche gains the sympathy of the people, Venus's love, and the enmity of both Malichot and the authorities.

Malichot, seeking revenge, betrays Cartouche to the police. Despite evading numerous traps, Cartouche cannot escape the snares of love. Eventually, the authorities capitalize on this vulnerability and set a trap while he is rendezvousing with Venus in the countryside. He is captured, but his men ambush the guards during his escort. In the ensuing chaos, Venus sacrifices her life to save Cartouche.

In mourning, Cartouche and his men place Venus's body in a stolen nobleman's carriage and sink it in a lake. As the carriage slowly disappears beneath the surface, Cartouche orders his men to scatter, vowing to avenge Venus's death—a path he knows will likely lead him to the gallows.

Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo - Louis-Dominique Bourguignon alias Cartouche
Claudia Cardinale - Vénus
Jess Hahn - La Douceur
Marcel Dalio - Malichot
Jean Rochefort - La Taupe
Philippe Lemaire - Gaston de Ferrussac
Noël Roquevert - the recruiting sergeant
Odile Versois - Isabelle de Ferrussac
Jacques Charon - the colonel
Lucien Raimbourg - the maréchal
Jacques Balutin - Capucine, the monk
Pierre Repp - the Marquis of Griffe
Jacques Hilling - the hotel keeper
Paul Préboist - a gendarme
René Marlic - Petit Oncle, the inn keeper

Production

The shooting took place from July 17 to October 6, 1961 in Béziers, Ermenonville and Pézenas. Other locations were Aveyron, Guermantes, Lagny-sur-Marne and Senlis. The film sets were designed by François de Lamothe, and Rosine Delamare was responsible for the costumes.

Reception

The film was a massive success at the French box office.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Box Office information for film at Box Office Story
^ "Cartouche". unifrance.org. Retrieved 2014-02-18.

External links

Cartouche at IMDb
Cartouche at AllMovie
Cartouche^{[permanent dead link]} at Le Film Guide

This article about an adventure film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article related to a French film of the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[box-1] Box Office information for film at Box Office Story

[2] "Cartouche". unifrance.org. Retrieved 2014-02-18.

[1]

[2]