Le Cerveau

The Brain is truly a French Comedy in every sense. Although sometimes bordering on the absurd, it was done with such a subtlety that it all seems comically real. In Addition to David Niven and Eli Wallach, two very know French actor/comedians, namely Bourvil and Jean Paul Belmondo, also star in this movie, making the movie complete.

The plot, A maxi Robbery by mini thieves, the many twists, the surprise ending, the Statue of liberty and a Leopard in a laundry room was all it took to make this fabulous comedy.

If you can get your hands on this movie at your local video store, don't pass it by. Though made in 1969, it has become a timeless classic.

Other Movies with Bourvil that are worth watching: La Grande Vadrouille and Le Corniaud (The Sucker)

It must be nearly twenty years since I last saw this film on tv and so I have only a vague memory of it. I do remember it as being highly entertaining.

David Niven plays a master criminal called 'The Brain' who is so massively intelligent, one of the give away signs of his identity is that his massive brain occasionally causes his head to go off balance thus causing him to keep it upright in his hands (very gallic sense of humour as this film appears to be largely French made).

He plans a major robbery whilst trying to avoid the attentions of Interpol. One of the gang members is the great French comedian, Bourvil who had parts in among others 'Monte Carlo or Bust' and the tv series 'The Flashing Blade'.

I would love to see this come on the tv again and can only think its been left off for contractual reasons over ownership of the rights and for royalty purposes.

Very Sixties in its making - with elements of the Italian Job and the Pink Panther combined - the Brain is silly, slick, and entertaining.

The robbery is colossal - $7 million in used notes from 14 countries all on one train! With an all star international cast headed up by Belmondo and Niven this is a frantic, frenetic, fun-filled take on the caper genre - and it really works - from the prison break to the caper itself and the subsequent chase it's high speed all the way.

Everything just kind of works - a great cast - a very competent director and all in all, it's fun.

The only downside is its very difficult to find and is rarely scheduled.

It has however finally been released in France on a double DVD (Without subs).

If you can find it it's a film to enjoy.

I first saw this movie in 1971. My brother and I liked it so much that we saw it twice (we still use lines from it in conversation). Wish it would be issued on DVD. When I saw it again after a lapse of over 30 years, I was delighted to see skits I had forgotten about. This movie is stuffed full of hilarious moments. I have a badly scratched VHS version (a former rental), but it's still a lot of fun to watch. Bourvil (Anatole) and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Arthur) have some memorable bits of dialog and wonderful on-screen rapport. David Niven (Colonel Matthews) is the dashing villain with the brain, and he delivers his usual polished performance. I was never much of a fan of Eli Wallach's movies, but he's pretty good here as a gangster guarding his sister's virginity.

I was pleased to find this film listed, because it has floated around in the back of my movie memory for 25 years, or so. I loved it when I was a kid, it was so much fun. It was the first film with Jean-Paul Belmondo that I'd ever seen, and I thought that he was great - very cool, the epitome of 60's suave. Bourvil, his sidekick, is always worth watching, and the chemistry between him and Belmondo was hilarious (or was it?). I seem to remember David Niven putting in a fairly energetic performance, running around with his head bent over because of his super-dense brain. I thought it was all very 'groovy', and a huge laugh. But, that's just it; I haven't seen this film for years, and I can't help wondering - is it as good as I thought it was? Some things just don't stand the test of time or the drift into adulthood, and it's a sad, sobering moment when a re-watching confirms this. But, hey - I still love loads of bad films that I saw when I was a kid. Perhaps I'm too easily entertained. Hmm.