''The Burglars'' (French: ''Le casse'') is a 1971 French-Italian

neo noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by director

Henri Verneuil Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International F ...

and starring

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward, frequently portraying police officer ...

and

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is bes ...

. It is based on the 1953 novel by

David Goodis David Loeb Goodis (March 2, 1917 – January 7, 1967) was an American writer of crime fiction noted for his output of short stories and novels in the noir fiction genre. Born in Philadelphia, Goodis alternately resided there and in New York City ...

and revolves around a team of four burglars chased by a corrupt policeman in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. It's a remake of the 1957 film '' The Burglar'' with

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. He ...

. The movie is known for its car chase by

Rémy Julienne Rémy Julienne (17 April 1930 – 21 January 2021) was a French driving stunt performer and coordinator, assistant director and occasional actor. He was also a rallycross champion and 1956 French motocross champion. Early life Julienne was bor ...

's crew through the streets of Athens, and Belmondo's rolling fall from a construction truck down a steep, rocky hillside. The movie was shot twice, once in French and once in English, by the same cast.

Plot

, Azad, Ralph, Renzi, and Helen execute a heist, pilfering a suitcase of

emeralds Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, ...

from a wealthy Greek citizen, M. Tasco, during his absence. Breaking into the house, they crack the safe and abscond with the jewels. Detective Abel Zacharia notices the burglars' car outside the residence. Azad engages in small talk with the detective, posing as a stranded salesman. Zacharia departs, seemingly fooled. Intent on leaving the country aboard a merchant ship, the thieves encounter a setback – the ship requires five days of repairs. Opting to bide their time, they stash the loot and disperse. Zacharia resurfaces with plans to claim the emeralds for himself. Azad develops feelings for Lena. Zacharia pinpoints the thieves and frames Ralph for the crime, resulting in Renzi's death and Ralph's arrest. Azad narrowly evades the police with Lena, only to discover her collusion with Zacharia. Azad and Zacharia clash in the cargo hold of the ship, leading to Zacharia being buried beneath tons of wheat. Azad eludes the police but has to leave behind the jewels buried under the wheat with Zacharia, underscoring the theme that crime does not pay.

Cast

as Azad *

as Abel Zacharia *

Dyan Cannon Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Friesen; January 4, 1937) is an American actress, filmmaker, and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sh ...

as Lena Gripp *

Robert Hossein Robert Hossein (30 December 1927 – 31 December 2020) was a French film actor, director, and writer. He directed Les Misérables (1982 film), the 1982 adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and appeared in ''Vice and Virtue'', ''Le Casse'', ''Les U ...

as Ralph *

Nicole Calfan Nicole Calfan (born 4 March 1947) is a French actress and author. She was married to François Valéry and Michael Calfan is their son. Filmography Theater Author References External links * 1947 births Living people Actress ...

as Helene * Myriam Feune de Colombi as Isabelle Tasco (as Myriam Colombi) * Raoul Delfosse as Le gardien de la villa Tasco *

José Luis de Vilallonga José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

as Tasco *

Renato Salvatori Renato Salvatori (20 March 1933 – 27 March 1988) was an Italian actor. Born in Seravezza, Province of Lucca, Salvatori began his career in his teens playing juvenile, romantic roles. After working with directors such as Luchino Visconti, Rob ...

as Renzi

Production

''The Burglar'' by

had been published in 1953 and filmed in 1956. Goodis was popular with French filmmakers; his novel ''Down There'' had been adapted by

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

as ''

Shoot the Piano Player ''Shoot the Piano Player'' (; UK title: ''Shoot the Pianist'') is a 1960 French New Wave crime drama film directed by François Truffaut that stars Charles Aznavour as the titular pianist with Marie Dubois, Nicole Berger, and Michèle Mercier ...

'' (1961). Filming took place in Athens and Paris.

Reception

The film was a box office hit in France, being the sixth most popular movie of the year. The ''Los Angeles Times'' said "the scenery is lovely, Belmondo is fun to watch even in a flat, silly part like this" but that it was "finally an uninteresting and uninvolving movie" because "it has no reality except as a movie". The ''New York Times'' called it "yet another international caper film... that does nothing very well and almost everything in excess" in which the director would "fill up a great deal of film time with a device rather than with an action". ''Time Out'' said the film "suffers an overdose of sunshine and multi-national production values to emerge as just another glossy heist."

References

External links

* *
''Le Casse''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

''Le Casse''
at filmsdefrance.com

at Cinema Retro {{DEFAULTSORT:Burglars 1970s crime action films 1971 films 1970s chase films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films directed by Henri Verneuil Films set in Athens Films shot in Greece Films shot in Athens French crime action films French multilingual films Italian multilingual films French neo-noir films French heist films French remakes of American films Columbia Pictures films Films based on American novels Italian heist films 1970s heist films French-language Italian films 1970s French-language films 1971 multilingual films 1970s Italian films 1970s French films