Up to His Ears (1965)

The farcical adventures of unhappy suicidal billionaire Arthur Lempereur.

Director:

Philippe de Broca

Writers:

Jules Verne (inspired by the book), Daniel Boulanger (scenario and dialogue)

Stars:

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Ursula Andress, Maria Pacôme

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Arthur Lempereur
Ursula Andress	...	Alexandrine Pinardel
Maria Pacôme	...	Suzy Ponchabert
Valérie Lagrange	...	Alice Ponchabert
Valéry Inkijinoff	...	Mr. Goh
Joe Saïd	...	Charlie Fallinster
Mario David	...	Roquentin
Paul Préboist	...	Cornac
Jess Hahn	...	Cornelius Ponchabert
Jean Rochefort	...	Leon
Darry Cowl	...	Biscoton

Storyline

Turbulent, fast-paced comedy adventure (one of the best of its time) about unhappy billionaire Belmondo, whose suicide attempts keep failing. When he hires some killers to do him in, he falls in love with beautiful Andress and wants to reverse the deal. Belmondo is ideally suited to this role, exotic locations and lots of stunts make this a joy to watch. A worthy companion piece to the Bond movies of that time.

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Plot Keywords:

attempted suicide | friendship between men | airplane crash | release from prison | low hangers | 

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Taglines:

That Man from Rio is UP the Himalayas... UP the Yang-tze... UP in a balloon... UP-stage with a stripper... UP-town in Hong Kong... You can't keep a great adventurer DOWN

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Genres:

Comedy | Adventure

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

4 December 1965 (France)

Also Known As:

Up to His Ears

Filming Locations:

Langkawi Island, Malaysia

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Ariane, Les Productions Artistes Associés, Vides Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the scenes were shot in France for example when you see snow. The snow in the Himalaya was inaccessible for the filming crew, one needed three weeks by foot to reach it. A small part of the team has been there but for the shooting it was too complicated. Some shoots were taken at the foot of the Himalaya and also at the world's highest monastery at 5000 m altitude. It was just not possible to get the whole filming crew there, because they needed to use a helicopter which only could take three or four persons a time.

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Goofs

Before meeting of Alexandrine, Arthur fells to a water, is dragged through a steamer's chimney, and covered with flour, yet minutes after he is clean and neat.

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Connections

Referenced in Vente a ligar al Oeste (1972)

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Soundtracks

Thème Des Tribulations D'un Chinois En Chine
Written and Performed by Georges Delerue Et Son Orchestre

User Reviews

fun to watch...Raiders of the lost Chinese

this is a remake of "L'homme de Rio" of the same director and also starring Belmondo. The producers told De Broca to make a "super"-L'homme de Rio this time. But the comedy is taken a bit too far this time, which means the border to pure slapstick is crossed several times throughout the movie, which is unfortunate. Also the actor of the suicidal millionaire and the actor playing his butler should have switched roles; I think even the director stated that once in an interview.

There are several references to its preceding movie, most obvious; in one scene the girl calls Belmondo "Arthur" instead of "Adrien"; "Arthur" was the name of Belmondos character in the first movie. In the first movie Belmondo asks his girl; "what's next, are we going to China?".

User reviews of "L'homme de Rio" correctly mention the fact that Spielberg very obviously was inspired by that '63 French movie when making Indiana Jones. Well, watch this movie and you will experience even more deja-vus.

This is a well done and very entertaining adventure-comedy movie. Go see it.