L'alpagueur (1976)

Director:

Philippe Labro

Writers:

Philippe Labro (writer)
Jacques Lanzmann (dialogue)

Release Date:

June 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

L'Alpagueur is a free-lance spy from the French secret agency. He's put on the investigation about L'epervier...

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Bounty Hunter | Detective | Drugs | Death

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Roger Pilard, dit l'Alpagueur
Bruno Cremer	...	L'Epervier
Jean Négroni	...	Spitzer
Patrick Fierry	...	Costa Valdez
Jean-Pierre Jorris	...	Salicetti
Victor Garrivier	...	Doumecq
Claude Brosset	...	Granier
Marcel Imhoff	...	le directeur de cabinet
Maurice Auzel	...	Le routier Gros Bras
Muriel Belmondo	...	La première hôtesse de l'air
Roger Benamou	...	Le mafioso espagnol
Jean-Luc Boutté	...	Le deuxième fusil
Patrice Chapelain-Midy	...	Un employé de banque
Michèle Delacroix	...	La seconde hôtesse de l'air
Jacques Destoop	...	Le mafioso sicilien

Also Known As:

Hunter Will Get You (USA)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16

Company:

Cerito Films

Goofs:

Continuity: The dry clothing of Roger and Costa as they emerge from the halfway filled vine vessel.

Quotes:

Le mafioso espagnol: I'm tired of honest cops.
Routier Gros Bras: Honest? Me? Don't insult me!

Probably my Favourite Belmondo thriller.

The first reviewer said it, and I agree; there's something truly unique about the French thrillers, especially those from the mid/late 60s to early/mid 70s. And this is one of my all-time faves. However, there are a few unnecessary downsides to the goings-on. For one thing, the rather un-70s editing-style in this movie is a little too much on the hectic side for my taste. Secondly, there's also some very out-of-place "humour", with scenes like Belmondo in disguise spying on some wiseguys under their trailer. But worst of all is the sad fact that the creepy killer (superbly played by an ice-cold Cremer) is focused on so little, when he is supposed to be the main bad-guy Belmondo is after. -Instead the Belmondo character spends too much time with other things, such as several less interesting sub-plots, thus wasting a lot of the movie's running time that would've been much better spent concentrating on the violent Cremer character. (-Belmondo's lengthy roadtrip with the unfortunate young man is excellent, though.) Despite all these "negative" touches, this has (together with "Fear Over The City") always been my favourite Belmondo thriller. If you're lucky enough to catch it, it could very well become yours too.