After failing to succeed as a singer/dancer/actor in Hollywood, Eddie Constantine (following his friend John Berry in his flight from McCarthyism) emigrated to France where he became a stunningly popular star in B-movies, famous for his naturally laid-back attitude, his winning smile, his delightful accent, his art of cracking one-liner jokes and, naturally, his immoderate taste for chicks, punches and gunshots. What made him meet with success is the character of Lemmy Caution, the FBI agent created by Peter Cheyney, a role Eddie would be indelibly associated with during his whole career. In 1965, he would even go as far as to interpret the famous agent in « Alphaville », Jean- Luc Godard's ultra intellectual dystopia. He would further embody him (sometimes shifting into a caricature of himself playing the character) in eight rather highbrow German movies and/or Tvmovies. But back in 1958, art film producers were not interested in him yet. Eddie was still the playful Lemmy of « La môme vert-de-gris » and his movies were still making money. Which induced Kurt Ulrich, a West German producer, to import both the actor and the concept. Hence this copy and paste of the French model, written specially for the actor. In this German lightweight entertainment Eddie is called... Eddie (why bother to give another name to a character looking so much like the ten- odd ones he played before). Not an FBI man this time but a merry sailor who has been assigned a delicate (if delightful) mission: taking care of four sexy girls. So much for the chicks. The punches and gunshots will be exchanged with a band of gangsters who dared kidnap one of the dolls, Juanita Perez... All that does not amount to much actually but it is directed with a certain sense of pace by Jack-of-all-trades Werner Klingler, which avoids yawns. After this film, Eddie Constantine's star began to fade. Fewer and fewer people came to see his exploits on the big screen. The poor fellow seemed bound to disappear from the screens. Not at all, actually ! For art film directors unexpectedly came to his rescue. It had suddenly become fashionable among them to like Eddie and his persona after years of Constantine-bashing. Not very logical but the main thing is that the friendly actor did find work and recognition, until old age into the bargain. Lemmy Caution aka Eddie Constantine had won his final fight!
