The Night Caller (1975)

Commissaire Letellier and Inspector Moissac are tracking Minos, a serial killer whose victims are women.

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Jean Laborde (dialogue), Francis Veber (dialogue)

Stars:

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Denner, Adalberto Maria Merli

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Le commissaire Jean Letellier
Charles Denner	...	L'inspecteur Moissac
Adalberto Maria Merli	...	Pierre Valdeck / Minos (as Adalberto-Maria Merli)
Rosy Varte	...	Germaine Doizon
Roland Dubillard	...	Le psychologue
Jean Martin	...	Le commissaire divisionnaire, Sabin
Catherine Morin	...	Hélène Grammont
Germana Carnacina	...	Pamela Sweet
Giovanni Cianfriglia	...	Marcucci
Henry Djanik	...	Un inspecteur de police
Louis Samier
Jacques Paoli	...	Self / Lui-même
Jean-Louis Fortuit
Gilberte Géniat
Philippe Brigaud

Storyline

A serial killer frightens Paris by phoning young ladies at night, telling them insults about their lives. Minos, as he calls himself, wants to prevent the world from free women and so he targets them. Commissaire Letellier is given the investigation and has a hard time with the maniac.

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Plot Keywords:

paris france | car chase | bank robbery | actor performing own stunts | strangulation | 

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Taglines:

A psycho-dramatic film from Columbia Pictures. Rated R

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean-Paul Belmondo's character, a Paris police inspector, wears a new Rolex Daytona watch, which at the time would have cost about $2000 US. This is far more than any honest Paris police inspector could have afforded. Today, in good condition, the watch sells for more than $25,000.

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Goofs

When Belmondo chases the bank robber into the metro, he's clearly packing a .357 or .44 Magnum. However when they finally have the shoot out on the train, his gun has changed to a snubnosed .38.

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Alternate Versions

There are many different run times for this film. The Euro versions run the longest and the US/UK versions (known as The Night Caller)run the shortest. However "The Night Caller" contains some footage not seen in the longer running time versions. The US version runs 91 minutes while the UK version runs about a minute shorter (with some violence cut out.)

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Connections

Referenced in The Story of Eloise (1976)

User Reviews

Prototypical serial-killer thriller.

"Fear Over The City" is one of those films that invented what later became known as the clichés of the "serial-killer thriller" subgenre. It's all here: the mad killer who fancies himself a moral avenger, the "Freudian" explanations of his behavior, the threatening phone calls to the potential victims and the taunting ones to the police, the hostage situation at the end, etc. The structure of the film is almost experimental, with a chase sequence in the middle that goes on for about 30 minutes, and an entire subplot (about a bank robber who killed Belmondo's previous partner) that is little more than a mere distraction. Belmondo is good as the cynical, hard-as-nails cop, and yes, he does perform some stunts in this movie that are worthy of Jackie Chan at his finest. He has some great moments of black humor, too ("his heart really IS bleeding!") (**1/2)

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

21 November 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fear Over the City

Filming Locations:

1 Place de l'Hôtel de ville, Asnières-sur-Seine, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cerito Films, Mondial Televisione Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1