Farewell, Friend (1968)
"Adieu l'ami" (original title)

After serving together in the French Foreign Legion, a mercenary and a doctor leave the service and go their separate ways. Later, they are reunited by a coincidence. The doctor has made a ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean Herman

Writers:

Jean Herman (screenplay), Sébastien Japrisot (dialogue),

Stars:

Alain Delon, Charles Bronson, Olga Georges-Picot

Cast

Credited cast:
Alain Delon	...	Dino Barran
Charles Bronson	...	Franz Propp
Olga Georges-Picot	...	Isabelle Moreau
Bernard Fresson	...	Insp. Antoine Méloutis
Brigitte Fossey	...	Dominique 'Waterloo' Austerlitz
Marianna Falk	...	Catherine
Ellen Bahl	...	Martha
Jean-Claude Ballard	...	A police inspector
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michel Barcet	...	Insp. Muratti
Antoine Baud
Stéphane Bouy	...	Man from Neuilly
Béatrice Costantini	...	Young patient (as Béatrice Constantini)
Guy Delorme	...	Man from Neuilly
André Dumas	...	Personnel director
Steve Eckardt	...	Big man (as Steve Eckhardt)

Storyline

After serving together in the French Foreign Legion, a mercenary and a doctor leave the service and go their separate ways. Later, they are reunited by a coincidence. The doctor has made a promise to a friend which involves his breaking into a safe to return some improperly removed bearer bonds. When he hides in an office building to accomplish his task, he is followed by the mercenary, who is out to steal the contents of the safe. Locked inside the building together, they reluctantly agree to cooperate in cracking the safe. However, surprises await them both and in the end, they both must rely on 'the honor among thieves' to straighten everything out.

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Plot Keywords:

safe | doctor | mercenary | bearer bonds | brown egg | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 August 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Farewell, Friend

Company Credits

Production Co:

Greenwich Film Productions, Medusa Produzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alain Delon, like many French, had admired Machine-Gun Kelly, one of the first Bronson's starring vehicles, and he invited Bronson to co-star with him in "Adieu, L'Ami".

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Quotes

Dino Barran: Give me your word.
Franz Propp: I ain't got one.
Dino Barran: Give it to me anyway.
Franz Propp: Very well friend.

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Connections

Featured in The Big Sleaze (2010)

User Reviews

A clever script from the late SEBASTIAN JAPRISOT and smart performances from the two male leads results in an engaging entertaining thriller

A clever script from the late SEBASTIAN JAPRISOT and smart performances from the two male leads - ALAIN DELON and CHARLES BRONSON (or should it be the other way around) result in an engaging and entertaining thriller.

Add to the above the competent direction from veteran JEAN HERMAN and a sparse but effective score by FRANCOIS DE ROUBAIX, it becomes easy why this film has an odd timeless quality.

This is a buddy buddy or bonding story with two loners, both disillusioned and world weary, returning, presumably from Algiers. Like the other colonial powers of this time (post WW II leading into the 60s), France had struggled to keep up appearances overseas. Losing Algiers was a bitter blow.

ADIEU L'AMI (the original title) chronicles the actions of our two (anti) heroes as they struggle to make a go of it, after their discharge.

One thing happens after another, and the viewer really has to pay attention, because JAPRISOT is lean and economical with his script: if it is there, then there must be a reason.

Suffice to say, these two men battle it out, physically and psychologically, one long weekend. Their motivation is quite different, their goals are different - their survival depends entirely on each other. That ALAIN DELON and CHARLES BRONSON are outwardly so different

• the former, arguably a pretty boy, and the latter an ugly thug, adds

to the chemistry.

That quest makes for a great story, which in turn, makes for a great film.

Lest I forget there are women in this film, and true to the Japrisot method, they too are memorable, though not nearly as fleshed out; to say much more would be to spoil one's delight in discovering their true nature.

FAREWELL, FRIEND HAS BEEN RELEASED IN THE UK; AN ANAMORPHIC IMAGE, 16.9 ENHANCED; IN English ONLY (not even subtitles for the hard of hearing); A RUNNING TIME OF 110 MINUTES; MONO SOUNDTRACK but the DE ROUBAIX music has lots of punch!

Highly recommended.