Jacques Balutin Movies
- 1984
Lucky Luke, the cowboy, his faithful horse Jolly Jumper, and his dog Rantanplan, are all out fighting their perennial enemies, the Dalton brothers, in this cooperative animated adventure from Hanna-Barbera and Morris Gascinny. To accommodate American audiences, Hanna-Barbera removed Luky Luke's ever-present cigarette, and eliminated some of his "ethnic" pals to avoid any potential problems in the minority department. For many Luke fans, these alterations were tantamount to destroying a character they have known since 1945, and so the feature was bound to receive mixed reviews by those for and against the changes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Balutin, Roger Carel, (more)
- 1983
This undistinguished, cardboard-character action-thriller has a team of super-cops, four men and one woman, tracking down a black-leather biker who kills off young women in a prostitution ring who are trying to escape their miserable life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Massimi, Chantal Nobel, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Max (Robert Morley) is a wealthy, world-class conoisseur of fine food, who cannot stop himself from eating when the food is first-class. His doctor has given him stern warnings that he must lose over one hundred pounds, or he will die of heart failure. The presence of so many four-star chefs in Europe is a hazard for him. When many of these same chefs are found murdered in inventive ways, each related to the chef's specialty, it begins to appear that Max is the prime suspect in their deaths. Meanwhile, the ex-wife (Jaqueline Bisset) of a fast-food tycoon (George Segal) has earned the right to cook the dessert course at a dinner billed as "the world's most fabulous meal." Despite their profound disagreements, he is worried that she will be one of the murderer's victims.This film, which was loved by some critics and hated by others, is based on the best-selling novel Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe by Nan and Ivan Lyons. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
- 1978
In this second animated feature based on the comic-strip western "Lucky Luke," the Dalton brothers plan to escape from the prison Lucky put them in and kill off the judge and all the jury members who convicted and sentenced them. If they can do this, and Lucky can verify it, they may be able to inherit their uncle's money. Curiously, the upright Lucky seems to be going along with them. In reality, he has an extremely clever plan in mind. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Ceccaldi, Pierre Trabaud, (more)
- 1977
La Vie Parisienne is a musical which is based on the farcical operetta by Jacques Offenbach which made the can-can famous. The story concerns two rich sons of the upper classes, who revel in the rich nightlife of Paris where they can drink, gamble, womanize and rub shoulders with all classes. Eventually, they tire of this and confine their elaborate womanizing schemes to other aristocrats, with the help of their sympathetic servants. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Alane, Georges Aminel, (more)
- 1969
The Brain (Le Cerveau) is a tongue-in-cheek caper film with more twists and turns than a rural Oregon highway. David Niven plays The Brain, so named because it was he who mapped out the British Great Train Robbery (it says here). Now The Brain plans to lift a fortune in NATO money, which is being shipped by train from France to Belgium. Complicating matters are a pair of free-lance thugs (Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil), who hope to steal The Brain's plans and claim the money for themselves. A plot device derived from The Lavender Hill Mob involves a 50-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty. An amusing closing-credits bit caps this exhilarating exercise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bourvil, David Niven, (more)
- 1969
In this story of obsession and tragedy, set in wartime France, Pierre Perret plays Clovis, a farmer so driven by hunger that he dares to plant potatoes on a plot of land which, though unoccupied, is forbidden to him by the Germans. Despite the film's tragic tone, occasional flashes of satire and pure bawdiness enhance its watchability considerably. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Perret, Henri Virlojeux, (more)
- 1969
An eccentric family in need of money turns their crumbling chateau into a hotel in order to renovate the old place. Repairs are made to the aging structure, but they only have one guest and too many empty rooms. The young granddaughter, with the help of her mechanic boyfriend, manages to make sure all the cars that stop at his garage are in need of overnight repairs. The hotel business soon improves as tourists are stranded and forced to seek lodging at the chateau. Cesar (Yves Montand) leads a trio of bank robbers to the hotel. Posing as aristocratic nobles, the crooks hide out in the splendor of the old house, charming the ladies and winning at poker games to pass the time. The mother of the family offers herself as a lure to draw more guests, who often take advantage of her adulterous yearnings. The hotel business does very well as the family saves their ancestral home after a dubious start in this romantic comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yves Montand, Maria Schell, (more)
The French/Italian/British King of Hearts (Le Roi de Coeur) takes place during World War I, but it might as well have been the Vietnamese conflict so far as its youthful "core" audience was concerned. Overacting outrageously, Adolfo Celi plays British colonel Alexander MacBibenbrook, who orders mild-mannered Scotsman Pvt. Charles Plumpick (Alan Bates) to undertake a life-or-death mission in a tiny French village. While evacuating the town, the Germans have left behind a time bomb that will explode at midnight; Plumpick must defuse that bomb. Upon his arrival in town, Plumpick discovers that it is far from deserted. A group of inmates from the local insane asylum, left behind during the evacuation, have claimed the village for their own. Knocked unconscious, Plumpick awakens to learn that he has been crowned "King of Hearts" by the gentle lunatics. None of the inmates pay any heed to Plumpick's warnings about impending doom, and when he attempts to lead them out of town, they are terrified at the prospect and scurry back to the "safety" of the village. Plumpick is finally able to render the bomb useless, whereupon the grateful inmates decide to stage a three-year celebration. When Plumpick tries to leave, he is kidnapped by the loonies at the behest of beautiful inmate Coquelicot (Geneviève Bujold), who has fallen in love with him. Bound and gagged, Plumpick watches helplessly as the Germans and the British troops kill each other off in comic-opera fashion. Finally set free, Plumpick weighs the horrible insanity of war against the more benign brand of lunacy represented by the inmates. The final image -- of a nude Plumpick carrying a birdcage, knocking on the doors of the asylum, and demanding that he be "accepted" -- was reproduced for the print ads of King of Hearts, effectively giving away the ending. An essential "date" film of the 1970s, King of Hearts was often released to campus movie houses in tandem with a pair of cult-favorite short subjects, the animated Bambi Meets Godzilla and Lenny Bruce's Thank You Masked Man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Bates, Geneviève Bujold, (more)
A notorious womanizer, fashion editor Michael James (Peter O'Toole) decides to seek the help of a psychiatrist when he begins to feel that his inability to commit to a relationship is adversely affecting his personal life. Desperate to remain faithful to his fiancée Carole (Romy Schneider), Michael enlists the help of Dr. Fassbinder (Peter Sellers), blissfully unaware that as Dr. Fassbinder is making the moves on a patient who secretly longs for the seemingly irresistible Michael. As Michael and Carole check into the Chateau Chantelle in hopes of patching up their relationship, Dr. Fassbinder has also arrived at the Chateau in hopes of finally cementing his relationship with the comely patient. As the two couples check into the hotel, disaster looms just beyond the bend in a series of hilarious mishaps that will test both Michael's faithfulness and Dr. Fassbinder's sanity. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, (more)
- 1964
This espionage thriller is about an agent investigating the theft of an experimental jet. He gets some help from an unexpected source -- a beautiful enemy spy who tells him that she has left the spy game and will lead him to the jet her former comrades have stolen. He must decide if she is telling the truth or trying to set him up. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominique Paturel, Virna Lisi, (more)
- 1964
The attempts of four secret agents to get a scientist's widow to share her husbands secrets form the basis of this comedy. The rival spies come from France, Russia, Switzerland, and Germany. The woman presents a real challenge as she is a retired stripper (her husband died in a brothel). All of the spies attempt to seduce her. More merriment ensues when the CIA and the Chinese Communists get involved. Finally the suave Frenchman succeeds. Afterwards he gets in trouble with his wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier, (more)
- 1963
This farcical French fantasy has great fun at the military's expense as it chronicles the Army training of a lively group of young men. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Jean-Paul Belmondo romps his way through the role of 18th century French bandit chief Cartouche. At first robbing from everyone in sight (he has to -- he's head man of a Parisian crime syndicate) Cartouche is rechanneled into becoming a Gallic Robin Hood by beauteous gypsy Venus (Claudia Cardinale). In Highwayman fashion, Venus eventually sacrifices her own life to save Cartouche from harm. He vows to continue his activities to avenge her death, but still manages to have a riproaring good time doing so. Hilarious without being condescending, Cartouche was reissued under the completely inappropriate title Swords of Blood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1961
Once in awhile, the post-war European filmmakers took a break from interminable stories about wartime tragedies and battles to create a different type of military tale -- a comedy like this one. Without any particular plot to speak of, the 90-minute running time is taken up with the humorous exploits of an egocentric wealthy snob and his lower-class chauffeur after both are drafted into the army. A kind of male version of Private Benjamin, with a twist, the two mismatched recruits encounter all sorts of challenges as they are forced to adjust to a life as bottom-feeders in the military. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian de Tilière, Serge Davri, (more)
- 1960
The joie de vivre of a young Parisian provides the basis for this romantic tale. The hero truly loves everything about life. He is especially fond of young women with he frequently falls in love. The lad lives with his supportive uncle, his brother, and his brother's wife, a former lover of the young man. Also living in the manse is a maid, four enormous dogs, and the man's two illegitimate children whom he adores. His life takes a downward turn when he meets an industrialist's lovely wife and falls in love with her. Unfortunately she does not return his affections. The devastated fellow reacts by playing sad songs on his bassoon while he waits for death. This eccentric behavior charms the woman into changing her mind and running off with him. His restored exuberance is again dampened when he discovers that this beautiful woman is not only a whiner, she is stone cold dead in bed. At the end of the film the fellow is seen flitting off with a new love, a tender young waitress. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anouk Aimée, Jean-Pierre Cassel, (more)
