''Les Truands'' is a French

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

starring

Eddie Constantine Eddie Constantine (born Edward Israël Constantinowsky; October 29, 1917 – February 25, 1993) was an American singer, actor and entertainer who spent most of his career in France. He became well-known to film audiences for his portrayal of se ...

directed by

Carlo Rim Carlo Rim (19 December 1902 – 3 December 1989) was a French film screenwriter, producer and director. Born Jean Marius Richard, he made an anagram of his initials (RJM - treating I and J as the same letter) for his pseudonym, adding "Carlo" a p ...

. For English-speaking audiences it was renamed as ''Lock Up Your Spoons'' respectively ''The Gangsters''.

Synopsis

This is the story of

racketeer Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

Amédée who recalls the story of his life when he is already more than 100 years old. He tells his family about his rise and his rivals. This is all to explain why he couldn't help but nick the watch of the mayor who came to congratulate him.

Cast

: Jim Esposito, racketeer in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

Noël-Noël Noël-Noël (born Lucien Noël, 9 August 1897 – 5 October 1989) was a French actor and screenwriter. Partial filmography * ''La prison en folie'' (1931) - Yves Larsac * '' When Do You Commit Suicide?'' (1931) - Léon Mirol * '' Mistigri ...

: Cahuzac, racketeer in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

* Jean Richard : Alexandre Benoit, Amédée's son *

Yves Robert Yves Robert (19 June 1920 – 10 May 2002) was a French actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. Life and career Robert was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. In his teens, he went to Paris to pursue a career in acting, starting with ...

: Amédée Benoit (and his father) * Sylvie : Clarisse Benoit *

Lucien Baroux Lucien Baroux (born Marcel Lucien Barou; 21 September 1888 in Toulouse – 21 May 1968 in Hossegor) was a French actor. He began his career working in the theatre, moving on to a long career in films from the 1930s. In the field of musical comed ...

: the priest *

Mireille Granelli Mireille Granelli is a retired French film actress.Hughes p.13 Selected filmography * ''Beatrice Cenci'' (1956) * '' Noi siamo le colonne'' (1956) * ''Les Truands'' (1956) * '' Mimi Pinson'' (1958) * '' Hercules, Prisoner of Evil'' (1964) * ''Mis ...

: Clarisse at the age of 18 years *

Denise Provence Denise Provence (1921–2011) was a French stage, film and television actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in mode ...

: La Païva *

Line Noro Line Noro (22 February 1900 – 4 November 1985) was a French stage and film actress.Hayward p.172 During the 1930s she played glamorous, often exotic, women in films such as ''Pépé le Moko''. Between 1945 and 1966 Noro was a member of the Com ...

: Chiffon *

Junie Astor Rolande Jeanne Risterucci (1911–1967), better known as Junie Astor, was a French actress. Selected filmography * ''Stradivarius'' (1935) * ''The Lower Depths'' (1936) * ''Women's Club'' (1936) * ''Excursion Train'' (1936) * ''27 Rue de la Paix ...

: Mlle Puc, the

tailoress A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

Héléna Manson Elena Eugenia Manson (18 August 1898 – 15 September 1994) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1925 and 1989. Selected filmography * ''La vocation d'André Carel'' (1925) – L'amoureuse de Cardan * ''Th ...

: Nana *

Robert Dalban Robert Dalban (born Gaston Barré; 19 July 1903, in Celles-sur-Belle, Deux-Sèvres – 3 April 1987, in Paris) was a French actor. His work included stage acting, roles in TV shows and dubbing American stars. Moreover, he was a fixture in Frenc ...

: Pépito Benoit *

Gaston Modot Gaston Modot (31 December 1887 – 20 February 1970) was a French actor. For more than 50 years he performed for the cinema working with a number of great French directors. Biography Modot lived in Montmartre at the beginning of the 20th cen ...

: Justin Benoit * Cora Vaucaire : a singer *

Claude Borelli Claude Borelli (1934–1960) was a French film actress. During the 1950s she performed in a number of films including the 1955 German film '' Hello, My Name is Cox'' in which she co-starred with Johannes Heesters.Goble p.32 She died in an accident ...

: a wife of Jim *

Antonin Berval Antonin Berval (1891–1966) was a French film actor.Goble p.4 He is sometimes credited simply as Berval. Selected filmography * ''Notre Dame d'amour'' (1923) * ''Arthur'' (1931) - Hubert de Fondragon * ''Le costaud des PTT'' (1931) * ''To the P ...

: Benoit's third-born son * Martine Alexis : a wife of Jim *

Irène Tunc Irène Tunc (25 September 1935 – 16 January 1972) was a French actress and model. She was crowned Miss France in 1954. She was the wife of film director Alain Cavalier and she died in a car crash in 1972. She appeared in 35 films and telev ...

: a wife of Jim * Ariane Lancell : a saloon girl * Béatrice Arnac : Mme Léonce * Guy Tréjean : Bobby, the lover of Cahuzac's daughter *

Albert Rémy Albert Rémy (9 April 1921 – 26 January 1967) was a French actor best known for his supporting roles in François Truffaut's first two feature films. He played Antoine Doinel's father in ''The 400 Blows'' and Charlie Koller's (Charles Aznavour ...

: policeman *

Nadine Tallier Nadine de Rothschild (née Nadine Nelly Jeannette Lhopitalier; born 18 April 1932) is a French author and former actress. She is the widow of banker Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family. Biography Nadine Lhopitalier ...

: a wife of Jim * Claude Godard : a wife of Jim * Françoise Delbart : the twin's mother *

André Bervil André Bervil (1905–1972) was a French stage and film actor.Bessy p.192 He was married to the actress Suzanne Grey, and was son-in-law of Denise Grey. Selected filmography * ''My Little Marquise'' (1937) * ''Happy Days'' (1941) * ''Bolero'' (1 ...

: Ange *

Daniel Sorano Daniel Sorano (1920–1962) was a French stage and film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as ...

: the barkeeper *

Robert Vattier Robert Vattier (2 October 1906 – 9 December 1982) was a French actor. He was the father of the comedic actress Bérangère Vattier. Selected filmography * '' Marius'' (1931) - Albert Brun * '' Fanny'' (1932) - Albert Brun * ''Vers l'abîme ...

: the Duke of Morny * André Dalibert : a police officer *

Michel Nastorg Michel Nastorg (1914–1984) was a French actor. During World War II he was called into the French army as Soldier Second Class. With the Seventh Army he retreated from Belgium before a fierce German onslaught, and found himself at Dunkirk in J ...

: town mayor *

Léon Larive Léon François Larive (28 June 1886 – 20 July 1961) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1923 and 1961. Selected filmography * ''Two Timid Souls'' (1928) * ''The Great Passion'' (1928) * ''La Passion de Jea ...

: photographer * Pascal Alexandre : Jim as child * Christian Denhez : Amédée as child *

Jean d'Yd Jean d'Yd was the stage name of Jean Paul Félix Didier Perret. He was a French actor and comedian, and was born in Paris on 17 May 1880. He died in Vernon, Eure, France on 14 May 1964. Selected filmography *1923: ''La Dame de Monsoreau'' (di ...

: the grandfather * Nelly Vignon : Madeleine Cahuzac * Jacques Mancier : police inspector *

Henri Cogan Henri Cogan (13 September 1914 in Paris – 23 September 2003 in Boulogne-Billancourt) was a French actor and stuntman. Biography Before Henri Cogan became a fight choreographer for European action films he proved his expertise in hand-to-hand comb ...

: a cowboy

References

External links

* * 1956 films 1956 comedy films French comedy films 1950s French-language films French black-and-white films 1950s French films {{1950s-France-film-stub