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Cartes sur table

  • 19661966
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
239
YOUR RATING
Cartes sur table (1966)
  • Comedy
  • Sci-Fi
A mad scientist uses his army of mechanical monsters to control people who have Type O blood.A mad scientist uses his army of mechanical monsters to control people who have Type O blood.A mad scientist uses his army of mechanical monsters to control people who have Type O blood.
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
239
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Jesús Franco
  • Writers
    • Jesús Franco(original screenplay)
    • Jean-Claude Carrière(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • Eddie Constantine
    • Françoise Brion
    • Fernando Rey
Top credits
  • Director
    • Jesús Franco
  • Writers
    • Jesús Franco(original screenplay)
    • Jean-Claude Carrière(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • Eddie Constantine
    • Françoise Brion
    • Fernando Rey
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 9User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos6

    Cartes sur table (1966)
    Antonio Jiménez Escribano in Cartes sur table (1966)
    Cartes sur table (1966)
    Cartes sur table (1966)
    Cartes sur table (1966)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Eddie Constantine
    Eddie Constantine
    • Al Pereiraas Al Pereira
    Françoise Brion
    Françoise Brion
    • Lady Cecilia Addington Courtneyas Lady Cecilia Addington Courtney
    Fernando Rey
    Fernando Rey
    • Sir Percyas Sir Percy
    Mara Laso
    Mara Laso
    • Girl from Lisbonas Girl from Lisbon
    • (as Mara Lasso)
    Dina Loy
    • Automatas Automat
    Aida Power
    • Automatas Automat
    • (as Aida Powers)
    Lemmy Constantine
    • X-3as X-3
    Alfredo Mayo
    Alfredo Mayo
    • Baxteras Baxter
    Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui
    • Olsenas Olsen
    • (as Marcelo Arroita)
    Vicente Roca
    • Lee Weeas Lee Wee
    Ricardo Palacios
    Ricardo Palacios
    • Hermesas Hermes
    Ramón Centenero
    • Oscar Hawkieas Oscar Hawkie
    Antonio Padilla
    • Monsieur 8as Monsieur 8
    Gene Reyes
    • Chang-Howeas Chang-Howe
    Sophie Hardy
    Sophie Hardy
    • Cynthia Lewisas Cynthia Lewis
    Rafael Cortés
    • Minister in Assassination Filmas Minister in Assassination Film
    • (uncredited)
    Jesús Franco
    Jesús Franco
    • Pianistas Pianist
    • (uncredited)
    Antonio Jiménez Escribano
    Antonio Jiménez Escribano
    • General Crosbyas General Crosby
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jesús Franco
    • Writers
      • Jesús Franco(original screenplay)
      • Jean-Claude Carrière(adaptation) (dialogue)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film was shot in color but released outside of Spain in black-and-white.
    • Goofs
      The story depends on a made-up fact that some people, instead of having a blood type of "positive" or "negative," are neither. The term they used for this was "Rhesus zero," which doesn't really exist.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Viaje a Bangkok, ataúd incluido (1985)

    User reviews9

    Review
    Top review
    CARTAS BOCA ARRIBA aka ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS (Jesus Franco, 1966) **1/2
    Enjoyable early Franco film (which I watched via a recording off Italian TV), an espionage tale with tongue-in-cheek and the first of Franco's several Al Pereira adventures.

    It is given an extra edge by the presence of tough-guy Eddie Constantine who effectively parodies his image here, and seems to be having a ball doing it! Another major asset to the film was the screen writing credit of Jean-Claude Carriere who contributes intermittent touches of wacky humor, satirical barbs and wonderful dialogue – as in the scene where the Chinese statue 'speaks' to Al, and he thinks he may be hearing voices like Joan of Arc; or when his superiors showcase the various improbably lethal devices he will have at his disposal on his mission, and he quips that it's evident they've been watching the James Bond movies a lot lately! Robert Monell's 'Dark Waters' review captures this essence extremely well, I think:

    'ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS is a Spanish-French co-production made by the same creative team responsible for THE DIABOLICIAL DR Z (1965). Both movies were given a tremendous boost by the imaginative screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere (who had worked for the great Luis Bunuel on many of his French productions). This perhaps explains the sarcastic French-style humor in ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS, which differentiates this from the more slapstick orientation of Franco's later Eurospy efforts (such as LUCKY THE INSCRUTABLE and KISS ME MONSTER [both 1967]). For instance, the opening assassination scenes include the murder of an ambassador and then a high church official, scenes that are staged with a slightly absurd, surreal touch which anticipates similar scenes found in future Carriere-Bunuel projects, THE MILKY WAY [1969] and THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE [1972].'

    Unfortunately, the film loses steam around the middle where the basically dreary (and fairly silly) plot takes center-stage. In fact, the 'robots' are the film's least successful element: amusingly attired but also lacking a distinct air of menace; this was perhaps intentional but I felt it weakened the suspense considerably, because in this way Pereira was never really in any danger! Still, there are plenty of other diversions on hand, not the least of which are the film's two leading ladies – Francoise Brion and Sophie Hardy – who manage quite a nice contrast between them, apart from providing the obligatory (albeit chaste in this case) eye-candy!

    Curiously enough, the film was shot in color but released outside Spain in black-and-white (which fact is given away by the plot-point of having the robots change their skin color when they die, but this element obviously does not register on-screen!). Still, as it stands, the film elicits comparison with any number of internationally-produced film noirs of the 50s and early 60s, and especially the work of Orson Welles as well as Jean-Luc Godard's almost-contemporaneous ALPHAVILLE (1965) – no doubt Paul Misraki's scoring credit was no mere coincidence – which also starred Constantine as another detective, Lemmy Caution, who was featured in a long-running series of films on the big screen.

    The climax is hurried and hardly exciting (despite some lavish interiors, the film's production was all-too-obviously a cheapjack affair) – but the sight of super-villain Fernando Rey (not quite in his element here) getting his just desserts Moreau-like is reasonably satisfactory, in my opinion. Put simply, CARTAS BOCA ARRIBA is good, unpretentious fun most of the way and I certainly would not turn down an opportunity to watch some of the other films Franco made featuring his favorite detective – Al Pereira!
    helpful•5
    1
    • Bunuel1976
    • Oct 10, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 27, 1966 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Spain
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Attack of the Robots
    • Filming locations
      • Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain
    • Production companies
      • Spéva Films
      • Ciné-Alliance
      • Hesperia Films S.A.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1(original ratio)

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