Les morfalous (1984)

April 5, 1943: a battalion of the Foreign Legion arrives in El Ksour, Tunisia, to escort a fortune in gold bars to the home front. A German ambush awaits, and all but four die. Thanks to ... See full summary »

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Michel Audiard (dialogue), Michel Audiard (screenplay),

Stars:

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jacques Villeret, Michel Constantin

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Sgt. Pierre Augagneur
Jacques Villeret	...	Béral
Michel Constantin	...	Adjudant Édouard Mahuzard
Michel Creton	...	Boissier
Matthias Habich	...	Karl
François Perrot	...	François Laroche-Fréon, le directeur de la banque
Maurice Auzel	...	Borzik
Gérard Buhr	...	L'officier du camp de ravitaillement
Junior John David
Robert Lombard	...	M. Chanterelle
Pierre Semmler	...	Capt. Ulrich Dieterle (as Peter Semler)
Caroline Sihol	...	Mme Chanterelle
Marie Laforêt	...	Hélène Laroche-Fréon

Storyline

April 5, 1943: a battalion of the Foreign Legion arrives in El Ksour, Tunisia, to escort a fortune in gold bars to the home front. A German ambush awaits, and all but four die. Thanks to the street smarts of Sergeant Augagneur, the Legionnaires successfully counter attack. The bank manager and his seductive wife arrive, and so does a German lieutenant, whom the French arrest. Augagneur wants to steal the gold; warrant officer Mahuzard wants to do his duty. A series of alliances form and break apart, the group dwindles in number, and the gold heads south toward Betahoua. But in whose possession?

---

Plot Keywords:

gold | sergeant | bank | tunisia | foreign legion | 

---

Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Thriller | War

---

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French German

Release Date:

28 March 1984 (France)

Also Known As:

Az arany bűvöletében

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carthago Films S.a.r.l., Cerito Films, Soprofilms

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

5th highest grossing movie of its year in France but after starting fast, dropped quickly because of negative word of mouth.

---

Goofs

Gold weighs 19300kg/m³. It would be absolutely impossible for two persons to move a cart with approximately two m³ of gold by hand.

---

Connections

References Kelly's Heroes (1970)

User Reviews

Jean-Paul Belmondo Is Fine In Played Out War Movie

At one point in Les Morfalous, Jean-Paul Belmondo's character tells the warrant officer: "I'll be frank, Edouard. It's not polite to mock us." Pause. "It's not polite." Although this war story seems often to be a bargain basement version of Kelly's Heroes, it has its moments. Another moment comes when the bank director's wife, observing her husband for the last time, gets a chance to make one really mean comment that is a play on words. Those moments do not include the cheap explosions that do no damage to the Tunisian town set where most of the action takes place in. Les Morfalous is the last of seven (by my count in IMDb)pairings of Belmondo and director Henri Verneuil. Belmondo in this movie seems as spry as ever, fighting, running and chewing the scenery. But age was catching up to him, which shows in close ups. Verneuil, a great action director, decided to end his career, after this movie, by making a series of dramatic movies about the Turkish genocide of the Armenians during World War One. I think he made the right decision, by ending his career making movies he cared about. Les Morfalous is a star vehicle that lacks the usual production gloss of Belmondo's movies in the 60s and 70s. The version I saw on the NYC CUNY Channel had subtitles but the print was grainy and washed out. Even a great print could not hide this movie's flaws: cheap action, choppy editing and too many dull characters. Belmondo is fine, the actor who plays the German officer is fine, the bank director's wife is very good looking and on target when she lists the mistakes Belmondo's sergeant made. In the end, Les Morafalous is a tired movie with too small a budget and not enough interesting action for a war movie.