Shoot the Piano Player (1960)

Charlie Kohler is a piano player in a bar. The waitress Lena is in love with him. One of Charlie's brother, Chico, a crook, takes refuge in the bar because he is chased by two gangsters, ... See full summary »

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

David Goodis (novel), François Truffaut (adaptation) (as F. Truffaut)

Stars:

Charles Aznavour, Marie Dubois, Nicole Berger

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Aznavour	...	Charlie Kohler / Edouard Saroyan
Marie Dubois	...	Léna
Nicole Berger	...	Thérèse Saroyan
Michèle Mercier	...	Clarisse
Serge Davri	...	Plyne
Claude Mansard	...	Momo
Richard Kanayan	...	Fido Saroyan (as Le jeune Richard Kanayan)
Albert Rémy	...	Chico Saroyan
Jean-Jacques Aslanian	...	Richard Saroyan
Daniel Boulanger	...	Ernest
Claude Heymann	...	Lars Schmeel
Alex Joffé	...	Passerby
Boby Lapointe	...	Le chanteur
Catherine Lutz	...	Mammy

Storyline

Charlie Kohler is a piano player in a bar. The waitress Lena is in love with him. One of Charlie's brother, Chico, a crook, takes refuge in the bar because he is chased by two gangsters, Momo and Ernest. We will discover that Charlie's real name is Edouard Saroyan, once a virtuose who gives up after his wife's suicide. Charlie now has to deal wih Chico, Ernest, Momo, Fido (his youngest brother who lives with him), and Lena...

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Plot Keywords:

pianist | piano player | bare breasts | french new wave | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

A Film for Adults

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

23 July 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shoot the Piano Player

Filming Locations:

Grenoble, Isère, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films de la Pléiade

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 82 min (1963)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (Dyaliscope)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was released in France under the title, "Ne tirez pas sur le pianiste" ("Don't Shoot the Piano Player"), or the exact opposite of the title in the United States.

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Goofs

When Lena and Charlie walk home after work you can see the shadow of the camera on their coats.

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Quotes

Clarisse: I did go to the movies this afternoon. I saw "Torpedoes in Alaska".
Charlie Kohler: How was it?
Clarisse: It's a picture with John Wayne, to show that the Americans want peace.
Charlie Kohler: No kidding? Then they're just like me, the Yankees.
Clarisse: You're always making fun of me.
Charlie Kohler: No, I'm not making fun of you, my little chickadee.

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Connections

Featured in The Truth About Charlie (2002)

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Soundtracks

Framboise
Written by Boby Lapointe
Music by Boby Lapointe
Performed by Boby Lapointe

User Reviews

Waking the taste-buds of your heart

The opening scene is of a man running in dark streets. We only hear his steps and the menacing mechanical sound of traffic which we assume to be made by the pursuer. He collides with a post and is stunned. A man carrying a bouquet of flowers, helps him to his feet. As they walk, the man is expansive and briefly describes the course of his relationship with his wife, from simple selfish lust leading to marriage and only later, leading to true love. The man excuses himself, turning towards his home, and in an instant the original victim returns to his role as prey to some all-pervasive, inhuman, pursuer.

For me, this is Truffaut, the viewer identifying with the victim for a few moments, being safe in the domestic harmony of the man, only to be launched anew into the role of the hopeless quarry. The talkative man's recognition of his dependence on his wife contrasts with a later scene, in a car, where the two gangsters reveal highly cynical attitudes towards women. The irony is that their cynicism is capped by Charlie (Edward), who quotes his father as saying "when you've seen one woman, you've seen them all". It is significant how timid and respectful he is when daring to interrupt the macho diatribe of the two hoods. With this one statement, we have the background to the whole story.

Big brother, Chico, the "prey", needs help from Eddy, who is very reluctant to be drawn in, but family ties prove too strong. We see Chico as being a demanding,selfish, brute and can guess he takes after his father. We also guess where Eddy's timidity originates.

In the dialogue between Eddy and the brutish bar-owner, who is jealous of Eddy's attractiveness to the waitress, Lena, Eddy even offers to leave. When the bar-owner tells Eddy he is scared, Eddy repeats the phrase, playing with it as if it were a new flavour. This seems to be the ultimate in humility or humiliation, yet Eddy respectfully almost accepts it as advice. This short conversation suggests a life of victimisation, from father and big brother. Yet, most touching of all, is that his submission does not mask underlying contempt; Eddy still cares for the bar-owner as he does for his brother. Later, when the two are collapsed in the alley after a struggle, Eddy tosses aside his advantage of the knife and is then tricked by the bar-owner, who appears to be offering to make peace with a manly hug, but then attempts to strangle Eddy.

In his relations with Lena, Therese and Clarisse we witness tenderness, spontaneity, playfulness and trust. I don't know if it's my imagination, but these scenes seem to have brighter lighting. With each woman, there is a different mood. For instance, those involving Therese are all flashbacks and seem to involve more classical, static camera-work, lending an appropriate quality of distance. With Clarisse, the prostitute, there is bawdy, but innocent humour and no physical embarrassment, while with Lena there is adolescent awkwardness, reminiscent of Woody Allen, followed by such delicate, romantic scenes of physical discovery.

There are unexpected cameos, such as Boby Lapointe, in the bar singing "Framboises" and Fido, Eddy's kid brother being fascinated by the two gangsters who have kidnapped him. The final moment of the film, ignores the outcome of the feud between gangsters and brothers. We are only concerned with Lena.