The Great Spy Chase (1964)
"Les Barbouzes" (original title)

A cold-war spy parody. After the death of an armaments manufacturer, an international group of spies is drawn into a high-stakes battle of wits to obtain the valuable military patents which... See full summary »

Director:

Georges Lautner

Writers:

Michel Audiard (dialogue), Albert Simonin

Stars:

Lino Ventura, Francis Blanche, Bernard Blier

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lino Ventura	...	Francis Lagneau
Francis Blanche	...	Boris Vassiliev
Bernard Blier	...	Eusebio Cafarelli
Mireille Darc	...	Amaranthe
Jess Hahn	...	Le commodore O'Brien
André Weber	...	Rossini
Louis Arbessier	...	The Swiss colonel
Jacques Balutin	...	Le douanier (scenes deleted)
Françoise Giret	...	Mme Pauline
Violette Marceau	...	Rosalinde
Anne-Marie Blot
Yves Elliot
Jean-Pierre Moutier	...	(as J.P. Moutier)
Jean-François Régnier	...	(as J.F. Régnier)
Michel Duplaix	...	Le barbouze avec Fiduc

Storyline

A cold-war spy parody. After the death of an armaments manufacturer, an international group of spies is drawn into a high-stakes battle of wits to obtain the valuable military patents which have been inherited by the lovely widow.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | widow | nudity | cult film | cult film | 

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Taglines:

RUN...love takes you where the spies are...PURSUE...women who are curved like weapons...Hide...with the one you seek...and the sparks fly upward...

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Genres:

Comedy | Action | Thriller

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Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

May 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Great Spy Chase

Filming Locations:

Chateau de Vigny, Val-d'Oise, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Corona Cinematografica, S.N.E. Gaumont, Sicilia Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Connections

References From Russia with Love (1963)

User Reviews

Mireille Darc is in it, so I thought I'd watch...

...and I'm sorry I did, because this one is just so weak. Script by Audiard, direction by Lautner, male lead Ventura: the winning combination that made Les Tontons flingueurs so enjoyable fails miserably here. It's a spy story, see, and the French, Italian, Swiss and Russian spies, plus a whole bunch of other people are trying to kill each other to come up with the formulas for superweapons. The action is drawn out and repetitive, the corpses just mount up and the audience is not charmed by the humour (there are almost no laughs in this).

Lino Ventura and Mireille Darc as the odd couple are at least fun to look at. I have always been a fan of hers; love those pert eyes and big giblet lips that are bigger than Mick Jagger's. Watch for Jess Hahn as the American spy, he's a funny guy.