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The Crossing of Paris

Original title: La traversée de Paris
  • 1956
  • 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
The Crossing of Paris (1956)
Watch Bande-annonce [OV]
Play trailer2:45
1 Video
76 Photos
ComedyDrama

Two men carry at night four suitcases of contraband meat across German-occupied Paris during WWII. Their opposite personalities and strange encounters provoke different adventures - until th... Read allTwo men carry at night four suitcases of contraband meat across German-occupied Paris during WWII. Their opposite personalities and strange encounters provoke different adventures - until they are arrested by the police.Two men carry at night four suitcases of contraband meat across German-occupied Paris during WWII. Their opposite personalities and strange encounters provoke different adventures - until they are arrested by the police.

  • Director
    • Claude Autant-Lara
  • Writers
    • Marcel Aymé
    • Jean Aurenche
    • Pierre Bost
  • Stars
    • Jean Gabin
    • Bourvil
    • Louis de Funès
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    4.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Claude Autant-Lara
    • Writers
      • Marcel Aymé
      • Jean Aurenche
      • Pierre Bost
    • Stars
      • Jean Gabin
      • Bourvil
      • Louis de Funès
    • 23User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 2 wins & 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    Bande-annonce [OV]
    Trailer 2:45
    Watch Bande-annonce [OV]

    Photos76

    Anouk Ferjac and Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    Bourvil and Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    Bourvil and Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    Bourvil and Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    Bourvil and Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    Louis de Funès and Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    Louis de Funès, Bourvil, and Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    Bourvil and Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    The Crossing of Paris (1956)
    Bourvil and Jean Gabin in The Crossing of Paris (1956)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jean Gabin
    Jean Gabin
    • Grandgil
    Bourvil
    Bourvil
    • Marcel Martin
    Louis de Funès
    Louis de Funès
    • Jambier, l'épicier
    Jeannette Batti
    • Mariette Martin
    Georgette Anys
    Georgette Anys
    • Lucienne Couronne, la patronne du cafe Belotte
    Robert Arnoux
    • Marchandot
    Laurence Badie
    Laurence Badie
    • La serveuse du restaurant
    Myno Burney
    • Angèle Marchandot
    Germaine Delbat
    • Une cliente du restaurant
    Monette Dinay
    Monette Dinay
    • Madame Jambier
    Jean Dunot
    Jean Dunot
    • Alfred Couronne, le patron du cafe Belotte
    Bernard Lajarrige
    Bernard Lajarrige
    • Un agent de police
    Jacques Marin
    Jacques Marin
    • Le patron du restaurant Saint Martin
    Hubert de Lapparent
    • L'otage nerveux
    Hans Verner
    Hans Verner
    • Le motard
    • (as Jean Verner)
    Hugues Wanner
    • Le père de Dédé
    • (as Hugues Waner)
    Martine Alexis
      Béatrice Arnac
      Béatrice Arnac
      • La femme arrêtée
      • (uncredited)
      • Director
        • Claude Autant-Lara
      • Writers
        • Marcel Aymé
        • Jean Aurenche
        • Pierre Bost
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

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      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Filmed in color but processed in black and white.
      • Goofs
        Crew is seen in the mirror when Grandgil pass the door of Martin's home.
      • Connections
        Featured in Louis de Funès intime (2007)
      • Soundtracks
        La Marseillaise
        Composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle

      User reviews23

      Review
      Review
      Featured review
      9/10
      Funny and profound; a gem of French cinema
      "La traversee de Paris" is a brilliant and often profound blend of comedy and drama. The story is rather uncommon and told in a most anti-rhetoric way. During World War II, in Paris occupied by the Nazis, two men have to deliver four cases filled with pork meat, for the black market. They cross the city overnight, trying to avoid French cops and German soldiers, as well.

      The fun is mainly based on the duets between the two "heroes", Grandgil (Jean Gabin), and Martin (Bourvil), supported by a first-rate witty script. These two characters are drawn with psychological depth. Grandgil is somehow a mysterious man. Sometimes he seems to be a sort of thug. He despises and bullies innocent by-standers. He wants to cheat and steal the pork meat, following a sort of selfish anarchism. But many clues make the viewer feel that all this should be a Grandgil's joke. On the contrary, Martin is proud to be a decent person, and to keep honest and correct even working for the black market. The unavoidable quarrels arising between the two men build a non-standard but deep friendship. Extraordinary is the actors' job. Jean Gabin is deservedly a cinema legend, and never disappoints the audience. Here the always excellent Bourvil is on a par with his great partner.

      On the background we have the masterly rendered atmosphere of those bleak years. French people is oppressed by deprivations and lack of food. Patriotism and heroic resistance are far from being appreciated. People are widely depressed by French defeat on the battle-field, and just wait for the end of the war and of German invasion. The first scene sets the tone of the movie. A blind beggar plays the Marseillese with his fiddle. Martin is displeased. What's the point of vainly provoking the Nazis? However he gives a coin to the beggar. And even a German officer gives money to the blind man. As a matter of fact, German soldiers do not appear as cruel barbarians. The officer who questions Grandgil and Martin is even nice. But when something wrong happens (namely, an attack against a German colonel), then the inhuman ferocity of Nazism shows his face. And the French hostages blame the partisans for that! Meanwhile, the swashbuckler Grandgil, always ready to despise other people's cowardice, realizes that in tragic circumstances one must care only for himself and his own life. There is a lot of depth in these scenes, believe me.

      It is not surprising that this excellent movie was reviled by French audiences and critics when released. This anti-heroic, even petty representation of French people at war-time, was surely hard to swallow.

      A magnificent nocturnal photography and artistic camera work, together with a first-rate direction by Autant-Lara, add further value to this superb movie.

      The final scene may appear somehow stuck to the movie. But it contains an important message. Life has won, life continues. Common, simple, decent people survived. Barbarians have lost, doomed to destruction by their own infernal wickedness.

      "La traversee de Paris" is a gem of French cinema. Highly recommended.
      helpful•29
      5
      • pzanardo
      • Mar 23, 2007

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      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • October 26, 1956 (France)
      • Countries of origin
        • France
        • Italy
      • Languages
        • French
        • German
      • Also known as
        • Four Bags Full
      • Filming locations
        • Franstudio, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France(Studio)
      • Production companies
        • Continental Produzione
        • Franco London Films
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

      Edit
      • Gross US & Canada
        • $18,297
      • Opening weekend US & Canada
        • $9,997
        • May 26, 2013
      • Gross worldwide
        • $18,297
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 20 minutes
      • Color
        • Black and White
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.37 : 1

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