King of Hearts (1966) Le roi de coeur (original title)

Director:

Philippe de Broca

Writers:

Daniel Boulanger (scenario and dialogue)
Maurice Bessy (idea)

Release Date:

19 June 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy | War

Tagline:

De Broca's Crowning Touch!

Plot:

During the latter part of World War I, Private Charles Plumpick is chosen to go into the French town...

Plot Keywords:

French | Hospital | Anti War | World War One | Lunatic

Cast

Pierre Brasseur	...	Le Général Géranium
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Le Duc de Trèfle
Geneviève Bujold	...	Coquelicot
Adolfo Celi	...	Le Colonel Alexander MacBibenbrook
Françoise Christophe	...	La Duchesse
Julien Guiomar	...	Monseigneur Marguerite
Micheline Presle	...	Madame Eva alias Madame Eglantine
Michel Serrault	...	Monsieur Marcel
Alan Bates	...	Le soldat Charles Plumpick alias le roi de coeur
Jacques Balutin	...	Mac Fish
Palau	...	Alberic
Pier Paolo Capponi	...	Un officier anglais (as Paolo Capponi)
Madeleine Clervanne	...	Brunehaut
Marc Dudicourt	...	Le Lieutenant Hamburger
Les Animaux de Jean Richard	...	Eux-mêmes
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Georges Adet	...	L'aliéné-docteur (uncredited)
Jackie Blanchot	...	Le Gabalou (uncredited)
Robert Blome	...	Un aliéné (uncredited)
Jean-Marie Bon	...	Un aliéné (uncredited)
Daniel Boulanger	...	Le Colonel Helmut von Krack (uncredited)
Philippe de Broca	...	Le capitaine Adolf Hitler (uncredited)
Philippe Bruneau	...	Un académicien (uncredited)
Paul Faivre	...	Le coiffeur (uncredited)
Georges Guéret	...	Le soldat avec Mac Fish (uncredited)
Louis Jojot	...	Gontrand (uncredited)
Jacques Mauclair	...	Le maire (uncredited)
Daniel Prévost	...	Le Général Vallemat (uncredited)
Yves Robert	...	Le général Baderna (uncredited)
Sabine Sun	...	Mimi la Rose (uncredited)
Sylvain	...	Le suisse (uncredited)
Eric Vasberg	...	Un soldat avec Mac Fish (uncredited)

Directed by
Philippe de Broca

Writing credits
Daniel Boulanger		(scenario and dialogue)
Maurice Bessy		(idea)

Produced by
Philippe de Broca	....	producer
Michelle de Broca	....	producer

Original Music by
Georges Delerue

Cinematography by
Pierre Lhomme

Film Editing by
Françoise Javet

Production Design by
François de Lamothe

Set Decoration by
François de Lamothe

Costume Design by
Jacques Fonteray

Production Management
Gérard Crosnier	....	production manager
Jacques Juranville	....	production manager
Jacques Juranville	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marc Monnet	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Jacques Carrère	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
François About	....	assistant camera
Vincent Rossell	....	still photographer

Other crew
Jean Richard	....	animal handler

Production Companies

• Fildebroc
• Les Productions Artistes Associés (Paris)
• Compagnia Cinematografica Montoro (Rome)

Distributors

• United Artists (1966) (France) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1967) (UK) (theatrical)
• Lopert Pictures Corporation (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinokuniya (2003) (Japan) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS) (letterboxed)

Also Known As:

"Le roi de coeur" - France (original title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | English | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:Unrated | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Senlis, Oise, France

Company:

Fildebroc

Trivia:

Julien Guiomar's first theatrical movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Plumpick is trapped in the wires and hits his head, he is tangled. When he wakes up, he is free of the wires, the posture of his body has changed, and his location in the street has changed.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Oh, So Wonderful

My mother had seen King of Hearts years ago, when she was in college. When I was about seven or eight (a few years ago, she rented the movie. Most of the movie is in French and it had subtitles, so even though I could just barely understand what was being said, I had a wonderful understanding of what was going on. It's the type of movie where what's on screen is enough to let a person get a gist of the scene. When I first saw the movie, I remembered how lovely the music was, how I grew to love the "crazy" people from the asylum, and how beautiful the movie was. When my mom bought the movie, we watched it constantly. I still watch it at least once a month. It's one of my favorite movies. I really do love the music. For me, it simulates fun insanity. I love every single aspect of King of Hearts. If you ever have a chance to see it, then go! Go see King of Hearts!