''Ho!'' ( it, Criminal Face - Storia di un criminale) is a 1968 French-Italian crime film directed by

Robert Enrico Robert Georgio Enrico (13 April 1931 – 23 February 2001) was a French film director and scriptwriter best known for making the Oscar-winning short ''An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'' (1961). He was born in Liévin, Pas-de-Calais, in the north ...

and 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 ...

. It is based on the 1964 novel ''Ho!'' by

José Giovanni José Giovanni (22 June 1923, Paris, France – 24 April 2004, Lausanne, Switzerland) was the pseudonym of Joseph Damiani, a French writer and film-maker of Corsican origin who became a naturalized Swiss citizen in 1986. A former collaborationi ...

. The film recorded admissions of 1,774,340 in France.

Plot

The race car driver François Holin, nicknamed Ho (

) abandons his sport after his friend is killed because of him and becomes part of a gang of bank robbers. Other members of the gang – the Schwartz brothers, treat him with contempt but work with him because without a good getaway driver their plans are doomed to failure. During preparation for the next robbery the leader of the gang is killed, and Ho intends to take his place to carry out the robbery. As usual, the first part of the plan is carjacking which is entrusted to Ho. But the police manage to seize him and he is sent to prison. There he sits in a cell with a bum who has received a mere 1,5 months sentence and begins to impersonate him. After 1,5 months pass the guards can no longer distinguish one from the other and Ho manages to get out of jail instead of the tramp. Immediately he creates false documents for himself and returns to the old apartment of his gang. The next day all the newspapers publish front-page articles about the daring escape, calling Holin public enemy number one, a man with nerves of steel, and state that while such a brilliant criminal is on the loose, the criminal world is invincible. Thus the police with the help of journalists hope to provoke Holin to rash acts unaware of his excessive vanity. But he unravels their plan and forces the author of these articles to write the truth. Moreover Holin intends to implement a plan that they developed before his arrest, but the Schwartz brothers refuse to work with him as they have already found a replacement for him. Then Holin goes in search of new associates and finds three small time robbers, who offer participation in a bank robbery. They succeed in the robbery, but soon the police are out on the Holin’s trail, knowing his weakness for expensive ties and set up ambushes in stores. Trying to escape from persecution Holin again faces the Schwartz brothers who are trying to take away his stolen money. This costs the life of the brothers and the girlfriend of Holin, a well-known model. Holin again ends up in the hands of the police again.

Cast

as François Holin *

Joanna Shimkus Joanna Marie Poitier ( Shimkus; born 30 October 1943) is a Canadian film actress. She is the widow of actor Sidney Poitier and mother of actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier. Early life Joanna Marie Shimkus was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Jose ...

as Bénédicte *

Raymond Bussières Raymond Bussières (3 November 1907 – 29 April 1982) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1933 and 1982. He was born in Ivry-la-Bataille and died in Paris. He is buried in Marchenoir. He was married to the ac ...

as Robert *

Paul Crauchet Paul Crauchet (14 July 1920 – 19 December 2012) was a French actor. Biography As a young man interested in aviation and rugby, Paul Crauchet discovered a passion for the theatre at the age of 23. He settled in Paris in 1945, he studied un ...

as Gabriel Briand * Stéphane Fey as Schwartz Junior * Alain Mottet as Paul * Tony Taffin as Old Schwartz * André Weber as La Praline *

Jackie Sardou Jackie Sardou (7 April 1919 – 2 April 1998) was a French actress. Personal life She was born Jacqueline Labbé in Paris, and married Fernand Sardou, a singer. She was the mother of singer Michel Sardou; and grandmother of author Romain Sardou ...

as Mado * Bob Ingarao as Schneider * Pierre Leproux as Roger * Jean-Paul Tribout as Falsten *

Sydney Chaplin Sydney John Chaplin (; 16 March 1885 – 16 April 1965) was an English actor. Chaplin was the elder half-brother of actor and director Charlie Chaplin and served as his business manager in later life. Through their mother Hannah, they were o ...

as Canter *

Jean-Pierre Castaldi Jean-Pierre Castaldi (born 1 October 1944) is a French actor. He is the father of French TV presenter and radio host Benjamin Castaldi Benjamin Castaldi (; born 28 March 1970) is a French television host, columnist, radio host and producer ...

as Bénédicte's friend *

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...

as Man at airport

Reception

''Time Out'' said it was for "indulgent Belmondo fans only", and called it a turgid effort "from the time when the star could churn out any old rubbish and still clean up at the French box office."

References

External links

*
''Ho!''
at Le Film Guide {{José Giovanni 1968 films Films based on works by José Giovanni Films directed by Robert Enrico Films scored by François de Roubaix French auto racing films French crime films 1968 crime films Films with screenplays by José Giovanni 1960s French films 1970s French films