Cerveau, Le (1969)

Director:

Gérard Oury

Writers:

Marcel Jullian (writer)
Gérard Oury (writer)

Release Date:

13 November 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

The Brain has rocked the world with laughter!

Plot:

Arthur and Anatole are two little robbers. They want to rob money, money that will travel in a special train from Paris to Bruxelles...

Plot Keywords:

Money Falling Through Air | Statue Of Liberty | Mafia | Firework | Panther

Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Arthur Lespinasse
Bourvil	...	Anatole
David Niven	...	Col. Carol Matthews
Eli Wallach	...	Frankie Scannapieco
Silvia Monti	...	Sofia
Raymond Gérôme	...	Le commissaire
Jacques Balutin	...	L'inspecteur Pochet
Henri Attal	...	Un homme de la bande
Yves Barsacq	...	Un gardien
Jacques Ciron	...	L'inspecteur Duboeuf
Robert Dalban	...	Le Belge enrhumé
Mario David	...	Un antiquaire
Raoul Delfosse	...	Un Belge
Tommy Duggan	...	Le superintendant Cummings
Henri Génès	...	Le gardien-chef

Also Known As:

Cervello, Il (Italy)
The Brain (USA)

Runtime:

115 min | West Germany:108 min | Spain:110 min | USA:100 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:G | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Bargème, Var, France

Company:

De Laurentiis

Trivia:

The film has been shot in two languages (French and English) with the same cast.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The first car of the train would definitely not be used in a passenger train and must have carried the crew's equipment. Placing the safe car in the middle of the consist prevents passengers from going from the tail to the head of the train. The first explosion breaks the air brake circuit, then the whole train should stop, not only the tail cars.

Soundtrack:

The Brain

I thought I must have imagined this film.

I was pleased to find this film listed, because it has floated around in the back of my movie memory for 25 years, or so. I loved it when I was a kid, it was so much fun. It was the first film with Jean-Paul Belmondo that I'd ever seen, and I thought that he was great - very cool, the epitome of 60's suave. Bourvil, his sidekick, is always worth watching, and the chemistry between him and Belmondo was hilarious (or was it?). I seem to remember David Niven putting in a fairly energetic performance, running around with his head bent over because of his super-dense brain. I thought it was all very 'groovy', and a huge laugh. But, that's just it; I haven't seen this film for years, and I can't help wondering - is it as good as I thought it was? Some things just don't stand the test of time or the drift into adulthood, and it's a sad, sobering moment when a re-watching confirms this. But, hey - I still love loads of bad films that I saw when I was a kid. Perhaps I'm too easily entertained. Hmm.