''La Guerre des boutons'' or ''War of the Buttons'' is a 1962

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

film directed by

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 w ...

. War of the Buttons is about two rival kid gangs whose playful combats escalate into violence. The title derives from the buttons that are cut off from the rival team's clothes as combat trophies. The film is based on '' La Guerre des boutons'', a novel by

Louis Pergaud Louis Pergaud (; 22 January 1882 – 8 April 1915) was a French novelist, war poet, and soldier, whose principal works were known as "Animal Stories" due to his featuring animals of the Franche-Comté in lead roles. His most notable work was th ...

(1882–1915), who was killed in action in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and whose works portray a fervent

anti-militarism Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especi ...

. The young and largely untrained actors included André Treton ("Lebrac"), Michel Isella ("l'Aztec") and Martin Lartigue ("Petit Gibus"). The character Petit Gibus's line of dialogue - uttered in frustration - "si j'aurais su, j'aurais pas v'nu" ("if I woulda known, I wouldn'ta come"), with its incorrect grammar (the correct form should be: "si j''avais'' su, je ne ''serais'' pas venu") has become a familiar tagline in France (the line was not in the original novel). The film won France's

Prix Jean Vigo The Prix Jean Vigo () is an award in the Cinema of France , French cinema given annually since 1951 to a French film director, in homage to Jean Vigo. Since 1960, the award has been given to both a director of a feature film and to a director of a ...

. The film was remade in Ireland in 1994 as '' War of the Buttons'', in an Irish setting, and again in France in 2011, with the original title.

Cast

Jacques Dufilho Jacques Dufilho (19 February 1914 – 28 August 2005) was a French actor. He was born at Bègles (Gironde) and he died at Ponsampère (Gers). Life and career Dufilho appeared in 65 French productions. Moreover, he was frequently seen in Italian ...

- L'Aztec's father *

Yvette Etiévant Yvette Etiévant (1922–2003) was a French actress. She starred in Yves Robert's '' War of the Buttons'' (''La Guerre des boutons'') in 1962. Filmography *1945: '' Les Dames du bois de Boulogne'' (directed by Robert Bresson) - La bonne *194 ...

- Lebrac's mother *

Michel Galabru Michel Louis Edmond Galabru (27 October 19224 January 2016) was a French actor. Career Galabru appeared in more than 250 films and worked with directors such as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson (for '' Subway''), and Jean-Luc Godard. ...

- Bacaillé's father *

Michèle Méritz Michèle Méritz (September 24, 1923 – May 28, 1998), born Micheline Rosa Mitz, was a French actress. Biography Méritz studied at the Cours Simon during the 1950s. While acting in Claude Chabrol's '' Le Beau Serge'', she told him a story o ...

- L'Aztec's mother * Jean Richard - Lebrac's father *

Pierre Tchernia Pierre Tcherniakowski (29 January 1928 – 8 October 2016), better known as Pierre Tchernia, was a French cinema and television producer, screenwriter, presenter, animator and actor. In France, he was known as ''"Magic" Tchernia'' and ''Monsieur ...

- Bédouin *

Pierre Trabaud Pierre Trabaud (7 August 1922 – 26 February 2005) was a French film actor. He appeared in 30 films between 1945 and 1989. Personal life Trabaud met French actress Capucine Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre (, 6 January 1928 – 17 Mar ...

- School teacher *

Claude Confortès Claude Confortès (28 February 1928 – 15 June 2016) was a French director for stage and film and actor. As an actor, he starred in Yves Robert Yves Robert (; 19 June 1920 – 10 May 2002) was a French actor, screenwriter, director, and pr ...

- Nestor the postman *

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 ...

- Touegueule *

Henri Labussière Henri Labussière (1921–2008) was a French actor. He mostly appeared on stage in various comedy plays between 1949 and 2000. As a film actor he starred in Yves Robert's ''War of the Buttons (1962 film), War of the Buttons'' (''La Guerre des bouto ...

- A countryman *

Yves Peneau Yves may refer to: * Yves, Charente-Maritime, a commune of the Charente-Maritime department in France * ''Yves'' (single album), a single album by Loona * ''Yves'' (film), a 2019 French film People * Yves (given name), including a list of pe ...

- The prefect *

Robert Rollis Robert Rollis (16 March 1921 - 6 November 2007) was a French actor. He mainly starred as a film actor, but also appeared in television and also in theatre in the 1950s and early 1960s. Amongst many roles, he starred in Yves Robert's '' War of the ...

- Migue la lune's father *

Louisette Rousseau A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with a pill ...

- Bacaillé's mother *

Christophe Bourseiller Christophe Gintzburger (born 27 September 1957), known professionally as Christophe Bourseiller (), is a French actor, writer, freemason and journalist. He began his career as a child actor and made his debut in Yves Robert's 1962 film '' War of ...

- Gaston *

Claude Bourseiller Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), F ...

Tsilla Chelton Tsilla Chelton (21 June 1919 – 15 July 2012) was a French actress of theatre and film, famous for playing the main role in 1990 film Tatie Danielle, in which she was nominated for a César Awards and as an elderly Dominican in Sister Smile. ...

François Boyer François Boyer (1920 – 24 May 2003) was a French screenwriter. He achieved considerable success with his first attempt at screenwriting, ''Forbidden Games'' (1952). Initially, he found no studio interested in his work, so he redesigned the scre ...

- The priest (uncredited) * Marie-Catherine Faburel - Marie-Tintin (uncredited) * Michel Isella - L'Aztec (uncredited) * François Lartigue - Grand Gibus (uncredited) * Martin Lartigue - Petit Gibus (uncredited) *

André Treton André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal, ...

- Lebrac (uncredited) * Claude Meunier - Bacaillé

References

External links

* 1962 films French adventure films Films based on French novels Films directed by Yves Robert 1960s French films Warner Bros. films {{1960s-France-film-stub