Monsieur Gangster (1963)

Ex-gangster Fernand (Lino Ventura) receives a call from a dying friend, a mob boss nicknamed "The Mexican". The doomed mobster talks Fernand into taking care of some criminal business and ... See full summary »

Director:

Georges Lautner

Writers:

Michel Audiard (dialogue), Georges Lautner (dialogue)

Stars:

Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lino Ventura	...	Fernand Naudin
Bernard Blier	...	Raoul Volfoni
Francis Blanche	...	Maître Folace
Claude Rich	...	Antoine Delafoy
Pierre Bertin	...	Adolphe Amédée Delafoy
Robert Dalban	...	Jean
Jean Lefebvre	...	Paul Volfoni
Horst Frank	...	Théo
Charles Regnier	...	Tomate
Mac Ronay	...	Bastien
Venantino Venantini	...	Pascal
Sabine Sinjen	...	Patricia
Jacques Dumesnil	...	Louis le Mexicain
Yves Arcanel	...	Le contremaitre de l'usine de Montauban.
Philippe Castelli	...	Le tailleur

Storyline

Ex-gangster Fernand (Lino Ventura) receives a call from a dying friend, a mob boss nicknamed "The Mexican". The doomed mobster talks Fernand into taking care of some criminal business and looking after his soon-to-be-married daughter. When a longtime mobster heavy, Volfoni takes exception to Fernand for being an outsider, they come after Fernand who is equal to the task. He defends himself in a series of comical killings from the onslaught of the mob.

---

Plot Keywords:

ex gangster | drinking | gangster | paris france | retired gangster | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Action | Crime

---

Details

Country:

France Italy West Germany

Language:

French German English

Release Date:

27 November 1963 (France)

Also Known As:

Les Tontons Flingueurs

Filming Locations:

Eglise Saint-Germain-de-Charonne, Paris 20, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont Distribution, S.N.E. Gaumont, Corona Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Meurisse: The guy with the monocle saluting Lino Ventura at the end of the movie is Paul Meurisse, a reference to the Movie _Le Monocle noir_ also by Georges Lautner.

---

Goofs

Towards the end of the film, before the final shooting in the distillery, Fernand says he has a wedding at 10 (supposedly 10:00AM). Later on, at the very final shot, after the car explodes in front of the church, the church clock clearly indicates 06:30PM. In France, wedding ceremonies never last for 8 and a half hours...

---

Connections

References Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954)

---

Soundtracks

Happy Birthday
(uncredited)
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill

User Reviews

'Uncle', already

After the Killer Tomatoes we now have the Killer Uncles (a more or less literal translation of an untranslatable movie). The level of word-play may be guessed at even by non-French speakers when the credits announce it is based on the novel 'To grisbi or not grisbi', which is, in itself, a nod to another novel and classic French movie 'Touchez-pas aux grisbi', with 'grisbi' in both cases being underworld slang for 'loot' in the sense of 'hot' money. Although it has all the trappings of a 'gangster' entry this is actually a comedy of bad manners involving two factions led respectively by Lino Ventura and Bernard Blier. While ex-wrestler Ventura has no problem acting tough Blier, arguably the best actor in the piece by light years and equally at home across the acting spectrum, plays it for laffs so that what we wind up with is a melange. Another French classic. 8/10