Body of My Enemy (1976)

Francois always despised the textile barons who ruled his local town. But he fell in love with the family heiress Gilberte. Ten years ago, he would have married her. Now only hatred holds them together. Francois is accused of murder. A hooker and a football star lie slaughtered. He thinks he has been framed by the mob. Going underground, he finds that the trail leads all the way to the top - to ... See full summary »

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Michel Audiard (screenplay and dialogue), Félicien Marceau (novel)

Stars:

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bernard Blier, Marie-France Pisier

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	François Leclercq
Bernard Blier	...	Jean-Baptiste Liégard
Marie-France Pisier	...	Gilberte Liégard
Charles Gérard	...	Le chauffeur de taxi
Daniel Ivernel	...	Victor Verbruck, le maire
Claude Brosset	...	Oscar, dit Janine
Michel Beaune	...	L'ami d'enfance
François Perrot	...	Raphaël Di Massa
René Lefèvre	...	Pierre Leclercq
Nicole Garcia	...	Hélène Mauve
Yvonne Gaudeau	...	Madame Liégard (dite 'la Reine Mère')
Suzy Prim	...	La mère de Marie-Adélaïde
Jean Dasté	...	Le gardien du chantier
Jacques David	...	L'avocat général
Jean Turlier	...	La Roche-Bernard

Storyline

Francois always despised the textile barons who ruled his local town. But he fell in love with the family heiress Gilberte. Ten years ago, he would have married her. Now only hatred holds them together. Francois is accused of murder. A hooker and a football star lie slaughtered. He thinks he has been framed by the mob. Going underground, he finds that the trail leads all the way to the top - to Gilberte's family. He needs friends. And friends are hard to come by in his town.

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Plot Keywords:

ex convict | murder | death | sado masochism | memory | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

13 October 1976 (France)

Also Known As:

O Corpo do Meu Inimigo

Filming Locations:

Rue d'Amsterdam, Tourcoing, Nord, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Andrea Films, Cerito Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

French visa # 45555.

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Quotes

Le chauffeur de taxi: Never under-estimate the Germans when they are on their field.
François Leclercq: At times even when they're on ours!

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Zooey Deschanel/Karmin (2012)

User Reviews

"Body Of My Enemy" Is A Train Wreck

Plenty of great movie talent worked on "Body Of My Enemy." For all their efforts, this movie is the worst of the movies that paired Jean-Paul Belmondo with director Henri Verneuil. The plot of this movie makes no sense, dealing with an interloper, Belmondo playing a social climber, Francois Leclerq, who gets involved with the super rich and influential family that controls the textile industry in his town. The movie starts off with Belmondo's character getting off a train at the Cournai station, just out of prison, where he served 7 years for a double murder he did not commit.

This opening scene was masterfully photographed by Jean Penzer, as is the entire movie. Marie-France Piser, who plays the rich man's daughter, never looked better, her beauty luminous thanks to DP Penzer. "Body Of My Enemy" was the fourth and last movie in a row that Penzer photographed for Belmondo's Cerito Films. The next movie Penzer worked on as DP was "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs,' directed by Bertrand Blier, the son of Bernard Blier - who played the head of the rich Liégard family in "Body Of My Enemy." The production values of this Belmondo star vehicle, the fine cast and the effort made in finding exterior locations just right for the story cannot compensate for a movie that is overloaded with flashbacks that vitiate the story. "Disjointed" is one word that you can use to describe this movie. As I watched this movie, I started to think that Leclerq, Belmondo's character, is a really unappealing sort, an egocentric guy quick to join the rich crowd.

I just saw this movie on a StudioCanal DVD (in French only), using the English .srt subtitles someone finally posted for this movie on the Internet. The DVD played fine but the movie not so good, a pretentious look at how rich people live. Still, that Marie-France Pisier. At about the 50 minute point, in a bathrobe, she gives a quick salute to Belmondo before the scene cuts. What a looker, what a personality!