''Up to His Ears'' (french: Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine or in English, "Tribulations of a Chinaman in China") is a 1965 French=Italian

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companies ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

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

Jean Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

and

Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...

. It was an indirect sequel to '' That Man from Rio'' reuniting many of the same team; directed by

Philippe de Broca Philippe de Broca (; 15 March 1933 – 26 November 2004) was a French movie director. He directed 30 full-length feature films, including the highly successful ''That Man from Rio, That Man from Rio (''L'Homme de Rio'')'', ''Le Magnifique, The M ...

written by

Daniel Boulanger Daniel Boulanger (24 January 1922 – 27 October 2014) was a French novelist, playwright, poet and screenwriter. He has also played secondary roles in films and was a member of the Académie Goncourt from 1983 until his death. He was born in Compi� ...

, stunt work by Gil Delamare it was loosely based on the 1879 novel ''

Tribulations of a Chinaman in China ''Tribulations of a Chinaman in China'' (french: Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, first published in 1879. The story is about a rich Chinese man, Kin-Fo, who is bored with life, and after some busines ...

'' by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

Plot

Millionaire Arthur Lempereur is bored with life. He tries to kill himself but fails, then decides to travel to Hong Kong to see if his depression can be cured. In Hong Kong, Arthur discovers that his money is gone. Mister Goh, his old tutor and a Chinese philosopher, makes him take out a life insurance policy to benefit Alice, Arthur's fiancée, and Mister Goh. Goh promises to kill Arthur for him. Arthur then meets Alexandrine, an ethnologist and striptease dancer. He decides not to die, and goes to track down Goh before Goh can hire a hitman.

Cast

as Arthur Lempereur *

as Alexandrine Pinardel *

Jean Rochefort Jean Raoul Robert Rochefort (; 29 April 1930 – 9 October 2017) was a French actor. He received many accolades during his career, including an Honorary César in 1999. Life and career Rochefort was born on 29 April 1930 in Paris, France, to ...

as Leon *

Maria Pacôme Maria Pacôme (18 July 1923 – 1 December 2018) was a French actress and playwright. Biography Born on 18 July 1923 in Paris, Maria Pacôme was the daughter of Maurice Pacôme and Germaine Hivonait. Her father was deported to Buchenwald conc ...

as Suzy Ponchabert *

Valérie Lagrange Valérie Lagrange (born 25 February 1942) is a French actress and singer. She starred in the 1960 adventure film '' Morgan, the Pirate''.Hughes p.39 Selected filmography * ''The Green Mare'' (1959) * '' Morgan, the Pirate'' (1960) * ''The Cors ...

as Alice Ponchabert *

Valéry Inkijinoff Valery Ivanovich Inkizhinov (russian: Валерий Иванович Инкижинов; 25 March 1895 – 26 September 1973), known as Valéry Inkijinoff, was a Russian actor, director and acting teacher. Born to a Buryat family in Irkutsk, h ...

as Mr. Goh * Joe Saïd as Charlie Fallinster * Mario David as Roquentin *

Paul Préboist Paul Préboist (21 February 1927 – 4 March 1997) was a French actor. He appeared in more than hundred films, mostly in supporting roles, and is best known as a comic actor. Filmography Theater References External links *Paul Préboist ...

as Cornac *

Jess Hahn Jesse Beryle Hahn (October 29, 1921June 29, 1998) was an American- French character actor who mostly starred in French films. Biography After serving with the Marines in the Second World War, he moved to France in 1949 and took French citi ...

as Cornelius Ponchabert *

Darry Cowl Darry Cowl (born André Darricau; 27 August 1925 – 14 February 2006) was a French comedian, actor and musician. He won a César Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2004 for his role as a concierge in '' Pas sur la bouche'' (''Not on ...

as Biscoton

Production

In addition to its footage of China, the film contains several minutes of the

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

area in India, including the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

, which appears much whiter than it does today. The film also includes approximately 15 minutes of footage of the central area of

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, Nepal, the nearby Swayambunath hillside temple and more rural mountain areas of Nepal, with the impressive

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

as the backdrop. Filming started under the title ''Chinese Adventures in China'' on January 5, 1965 in Nepal. Ursula Andress left for Hong Kong in February 1965. Filming took place in Hong Kong and Paris. In January 1966, the title was changed to ''Up to His Ears''.Mailer Novel to Be Filmed Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 18 Jan 1966: c13.

Reception

The film was the tenth-most popular of 1965 in France, after ''

The Sucker ''The Sucker'' (french: link=no, Le Corniaud, ) is a French, Italian and Spanish comedy film by Gérard Oury starring Louis de Funès and Bourvil. Plot Leaving Paris for his summer vacation, the naïve Antoine Maréchal has his 2CV totally w ...

'', '' Goldfinger'', '' Thunderball'', ''

Gendarme in New York ''Gendarme in New York'' (french: Le gendarme à New York) is a 1965 sequel to the French comedy film '' The Troops of St. Tropez''. It stars Louis de Funès as the gendarme along with Michel Galabru, Christian Marin, Guy Grosso and Michel Modo. P ...

'', ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

'', '' Fantomas Unleashed'', ''

God's Thunder ''God's Thunder'' or ''Le Tonnerre de Dieu'' is a 1965 French-Italian-West German comedy-drama film directed by Denys de La Patellière and starring Jean Gabin and Michèle Mercier. Plot Upset by his wife's inability to bear him a child, Brassac ...

'', ''

The Wise Guys ''The Wise Guys'' (U.S. video title: ''Jailbirds' Vacation'') (french: Les Grandes Gueules) is a 1965 French drama film directed by Robert Enrico, based on a novel by José Giovanni. Featuring two popular male leads in Bourvil and Lino Ventura, ...

'' and ''

Viva Maria! ''Viva Maria!'' is a 1965 adventure comedy film starring Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau as two women named Maria who meet and become revolutionaries in the early 20th century. It also starred George Hamilton as Florès, a revolutionary leade ...

''.

References

External links

* *
''Up to His Ears''
at Le Film Guide
''Up to His Ears''
at Letterbox DVD
''Up to His Ears''
at Philippe de Broca {{Philippe de Broca French adventure comedy films 1965 films 1960s adventure comedy films Films scored by Georges Delerue Films about suicide Films based on French novels Films based on works by Jules Verne Films directed by Philippe de Broca Films set in Hong Kong Films set in Nepal Films shot in Hong Kong Films shot in Nepal 1960s French-language films Italian comedy films Films shot in Lalitpur, Nepal 1960s Italian films 1960s French films