Arsène Lupin is a French TV show (1971 - 1974) which was co-produced with French, German, Canadian, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss, Italian and Austrian TV stations. It is loosely based on the novels by

Maurice Leblanc Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...

featuring master thief Arsène Lupin who was featured in 17 novels and 39

novellas A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

Development

Georges Descrières' portrayal of

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...

showed more similarity to

Graf Yoster ''Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre'' (French title: ''Le comte Yoster a bien l'honneur'') – which translates to English as ''Count Yoster has the Honour'' – was a television series produced between 1967 and 1976. Starring Lukas Ammann and Wolf ...

than to Maurice Leblanc's original depiction of his character. He behaved in the first place as a perfect gentleman who never got angry. Besides rescuing damsels in distress Lupin took on (other) criminals, competing with their wit and intelligence. Either he stole paintings from rich people who had to be considered white-collar criminals or he acted as a detective who derailed criminal schemes. Among the guest stars were German actors such as

Günter Strack Günter Strack (4 June 1929 – 18 January 1999) was a German film and television actor. Career In English language films, he played Professor Karl Manfred in the Hitchcock thriller ''Torn Curtain'' (1966) and appeared as Kunik in ''The Odes ...

and

Sky du Mont Sky du Mont (born Cayetano Neven du Mont; 20 May 1947) is a German-Argentine actor. Early life Sky du Mont's family, who are related to the famous publishers DuMont Schauberg, fled the Nazis in the 1930s to South America. He was born in Argen ...

Jean-Paul Salomé Jean-Paul Salomé (born 14 September 1960) is a French director and screenwriter. Filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salome, Jean-Paul 1960 births Living people Film directors from Paris French male screenwriters French ...

said in his commentary on the DVD version of his film, '' film Arsène Lupin (2004)'', that he had liked this TV series as a child. German TV, one of the investors, would broadcast the show eventually between 18:00-20:00 o'clock because it was only allowed to show commercials within that timeslot. For them to get a financial return on investment the show had to be appropriate for families and also for children who would watch it alone. Subsequently, it was nearby to ask to defuse and flatten some of Leblanc's plots in order to avoid possible complaints that could force the station to broadcast the show beyond the "Vorabendprogramm".

Cast

Georges Descrières Georges Descrières (15 April 1930 – 19 October 2013) was a French actor. He appeared in 52 films and television shows between 1954 and 1996. He starred alongside Anna Karina in the 1962 film '' Sun in Your Eyes'' and portrayed the gentlem ...

...

* Yvon Bouchard ... Grognard * Roger Carel ... Guerchard * Henri Virlojeux ... Herlock Sholmès

Theme songs

Series 1 ending theme

"L'Arsène"

Music by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre Lyrics by Jacques Lanzmann Performed by

Jacques Dutronc Jacques Dutronc (born 28 April 1943) is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He married singer Françoise Hardy on 30 March 1981 and together they have a son (manouche jazz) guitarist Thomas Dutronc, born 1973); they sepa ...

Series 2 ending theme

"Gentleman Cambrioleur"

Music by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre Lyrics by Jacques Lanzmann Performed by Jacques Dutronc

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arsene Lupin (TV series) French crime drama television series Italian television series Italian crime television series Television shows based on French novels 1970s French television series 1971 French television series debuts 1974 French television series endings Period television series Television shows based on Arsène Lupin