Monsieur Gangster (1963)
"Les tontons flingueurs" (original title)

Ex-gangster Fernand (Lino Ventura) receives a call from a dying friend, a mob boss nicknamed "The Mexican". The doomed mobster talks Fernand into taking care of some criminal business and ... See full summary »

Director:

Georges Lautner

Writers:

Michel Audiard (dialogue), Georges Lautner (dialogue),

Stars:

Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lino Ventura	...	Fernand Naudin
Bernard Blier	...	Raoul Volfoni
Francis Blanche	...	Maître Folace
Claude Rich	...	Antoine Delafoy
Pierre Bertin	...	Adolphe Amédée Delafoy
Robert Dalban	...	Jean
Jean Lefebvre	...	Paul Volfoni
Horst Frank	...	Théo
Charles Regnier	...	Tomate
Mac Ronay	...	Bastien
Venantino Venantini	...	Pascal
Sabine Sinjen	...	Patricia
Jacques Dumesnil	...	Louis le Mexicain
Yves Arcanel
Philippe Castelli	...	Le tailleur

Storyline

Ex-gangster Fernand (Lino Ventura) receives a call from a dying friend, a mob boss nicknamed "The Mexican". The doomed mobster talks Fernand into taking care of some criminal business and looking after his soon-to-be-married daughter. When a longtime mobster heavy, Volfoni takes exception to Fernand for being an outsider, they come after Fernand who is equal to the task. He defends himself in a series of comical killings from the onslaught of the mob.

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | punch into the camera | gambling | deathbed oath | debt collector | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Action | Crime

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Details

Country:

France West Germany Italy

Language:

French German English

Release Date:

27 November 1963 (France)

Also Known As:

Les Tontons Flingueurs

Filming Locations:

Eglise Saint-Germain-de-Charonne, Paris 20, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont Distribution, S.N.E. Gaumont, Corona Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Meurisse:  The guy with the monocle saluting Lino Ventura at the end of the movie is Paul Meurisse, a reference to the Movie _Le Monocle noir_ also by Georges Lautner.

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Connections

References The Black Monocle (1961)

User Reviews

Who's afraid of Lino Ventura?

For a number of years now they have fed us movies about the adventures of mutant superheroes (o.k., I admit I have seen and enjoyed one or two of them). This was preceded by the surreal Schwarzenegger-Stallone-Van Damme-decade (also called the eighties), with action-flick actors whose muscle mass far exceeded their acting skills. Before that, there was Dirty Harry and a wild selection of anti-heroes of all sizes, shapes and colors. But when, exactly, was it, that real men disappeared from the screen? The event that caused the extinction of such dinosaurs as Lino Ventura, Jean Gabin, Lee Marvin, Humphrey Bogart and the like must have been the counter-culture of the sixties. But what a loss it caused. We had movie-stars who were real, gentlemanly (sometimes), cool, human and funny as well as ugly but sexy and we went and replaced them with a bunch of guys in a mask and cape (and I don't mean Zorro).

Luckily we all have our VCRs and DVD players and blockbuster and amazon and are able to enjoy movies like Les Tontons Flinguers, one of the funniest, coolest and yet silliest movies of all time. Every actor a character, every dialogue a gem, every scene a revelation about how to make it look easy. Go see this film before you even contemplate to watch Spiderman III!