From left: Lino Ventura in "Touchez Pas au Grisbi," Jean Gabin in "La Bête Humaine" and John-Paul Belmondo in "Moderato Cantabile."
Anyone laboring under the erroneous assumption that French actors are men of thought and not action will stand corrected after viewing UW Cinematheque’s upcoming summer series, “French Tough Guys: Gabin, Ventura, Belmondo.”
In seven films spanning four decades, stars Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura and Jean-Paul Belmondo deliver all the fists, guns and speeding cars that action fans crave, mais en francais.
The strengths of the French thriller should come as no surprise to those who know the influence 1930s French crime films had on the great American crime genre, film noir. Cinematheque has snagged one of these proto-noirs: Jean Renoir’s La Bête Humaine (1936), the tale of a train engineer who falls for the wrong woman and then falls from grace. Gabin turns in a surprisingly sensitive performance, which makes his violent turn as shocking as it is inevitable.
It is appropriate that France would create the existential tough guy, and Jean Gabin is the right man for the job. For nearly half a century, Gabin was the face of French cinema. This suave, aggressive, sad-eyed everyman had a knack for thrillers, and his powers did not diminish with age. In La Horse (1970), he is an old farmer who must protect his home from drug dealers. It’s the type of role Clint Eastwood lives for. Any Number Can Win (1963) has Gabin robbing a casino, and in the sexy Touchez Pas au Grisbi (Hands Off the Loot, 1954), he must preserve his illegally acquired retirement fund from his fellow gangsters. His adversary in Grisbi is played by Cinematheque’s second featured star, Lino Ventura.
The toughest looking of these tough guys, Ventura took up acting after an injury ended his Greco-Roman wrestling career. This barrel-chested, potato-nosed actor was a threat wrapped in a nice suit who played heroes as well as villains. In The Dictator’s Guns (1965) he is a charter boat captain who has a series of dangerous encounters with gun runners in the Caribbean.
Ventura shares the screen with Jean-Paul Belmondo in Greed in the Sun (1964), where they pursue guns, money and each other across the Sahara. Belmondo also stars in Moderato Cantabile (a.k.a. Seven Days...Seven Nights), one of the handful of films helmed by revolutionary stage director Peter Brook.
If your only frame of reference for Belmondo is his iconic performance as the not-so-tough crook in Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, you might be surprised to find him on this list. You shouldn’t be: According to Cinematheque organizer Jim Healy, Belmondo was the toughest of the lot: “The guy does his own stunts à la Jackie Chan.” And like Chan, he could highlight the humor in deadly situations.
This series is produced in partnership with the film program officer at the cultural services department of the French Embassy, which helped Cinematheque acquire 35-mm prints.
“French Tough Guys” will screen on Wednesdays in June and July at 4070 Vilas Hall. Check cinema.wisc.edu for the full schedule.
