Una vampata di violenza

Having served eleven years in prison as a convicted murderer and narrowly escaping the clutches of Madame la Guillotine, Joseph Damiani who became José Giovanni, could hardly be called a jackpot of admirable character traits. Once his novel 'Le Trou', based upon his own attempted escape from prison was taken up by Jacques Becker, he never looked back which just goes to prove that crime does pay. Naturally he himself asserted that he had 'paid his debt to society'.

His lurid background and intimate knowledge of the criminal mentality certainly gave an edge and a sense of realism to his writings which proved irresistible to directors and provided meaty roles for some of France's most iconic actors. Here he has adapted his own 'Haut-fer'.

Director Robert Enrico has again secured the expensive services of Lino Ventura who teams up with equally expensive Bourvil and they complement each other very well in their sole outing together. Ventura is entering his mature phase with his best roles yet to come and Bourvil again proves his abilities as a straight actor despite being known mainly for his rather infantile comedies.

Laurent, an ex-con played by Ventura, helps the Hector of Bourvil to run his failing sawmill by utilising a bunch of jailbirds on parole as lumberjacks. This is resented by a powerful local landowner and results in gang warfare. Moreover it seems that Laurent's motives for aiding Hector are not of the finest......

It is set in the Vosges region but with its subject matter and Morricone-like score by Francois de Roubaix, it could just as easily be transposed to the wild West where men were men and women were willing. As one would expect from Giovanni the men are decidedly men and the women seem willing enough, none more so than lovely Marie Dubois.

Plenty of testosterone-fuelled, mucho macho posturing here of course, notably from Jess Hahn as a Neanderthal nitwit whilst Michel Constantine supplies his customarily understated menace. Ventura is able to utilise his previous experience in the Ring to great effect in the frequent fisticuff fests that punctuate the film at regular intervals. He also gets to rival Jean Gabin in the sheer quantity of cigarettes he smokes.

For those who like this sort of thing there is a great deal here to enjoy but it fails alas to fulfil its early promise and is simply not substantial enough to justify its two hour length whilst Giovanni's themes are better suited to a more enclosed underworld setting. Great conflagration scene however and an effective downbeat ending.

We should be grateful for small mercies in that this film was not directed by Giovanni himself.

A strange film. Riddled with clumsiness: fight scenes with punches missing by a mile and ridiculuous Foley work using interior echo for outdoor action; people working as lumberjacks wearing clean shirts at the end of the day, etc. etc.

Funny too that the actor Bourvil, best known as a comedian, comes across as

slightly mean, taciturn and unpleasant in a role obviously written to be warm- hearted. An aging Lino Ventura is frankly embarrassing as the romantic lead,

and his lazy gambit of instilling drama by lighting up yet another Gauloise or Gitane (count 'em!) should have been jumped on and stubbed out by the

director. The plot seems to borrow hugely from American films, and there is little local flavour. The bizarre highlight is the gang of convicts letting their hair down on a fairground carousel, gaily tossing confetti at each other, followed by the dramatic denouement when one of the convicts refuses to let a rival have a turn on a fairground game! Zut alors!

I saw the movie for the first time when I was 22. Since then I've seen it at least a dozen times -- over a period of over 20 years, every time I find new things in it: friendship and love and "life is not fair" and there is nothing we can do about it except try to do our best. + 2 marvelous actors who, alone, a worth seeing the movie... Lino Ventura, as usual, a very forceful personality, and Bourvil, for once, is not in a comic capacity, two people from worlds apart and yet they come to form this unexpected and unlikely friendship because ultimately, they are the Good Guys in a world full with "model citizens" performing dirty tricks. The film is dynamic, it leaves you breathless

This is a typical excellent french movie with two of the best french actors : lino ventura and bourvil. The story is good, the acting is perfect and the atmosphere of the film is very pleasant; My advice : one of the best french adventure movies

With "les Grandes gueules" ,Robert Enrico made a volte face:whereas his first works ' actors were completely unknown,he 's got two French megastars Bourvil and Lino Ventura.

Someone who would have only seen Enrico's two first efforts might easily think that this Enrico is another director an homonym."Au coeur de LA Vie" his first film was a masterpiece ,so ahead of its time it continues to fascinate the directors ("Jacob's ladder" was clearly inspired by "La Riviere du Hibou " aka "An Occurrence at owl creek bridge" ).Although not as ambitious in scope as it,"la Belle Vie" was anti-commercial stuff.

Actually "les Grandes Gueules" is Robert Enrico as the audience may have to like him: manly friendship,fighting against something hostile. Jose Giovanni provided Enrico with the screenplay and the most amazing thing is that the villains either do not intervene (the big sawmill's boss's men )very often in a 2hours+ movie or do not show up (Ventura's enemy) at all.Few women :Mick and his girlfriend's love affair is doomed.Marie Dubois's part is too underwritten to allow her to shine in a man's story.

Finally,"Les Grandes gueules" is a blueprint for Enrico's next movie ,"les Aventuriers" which succeeded at depicting male friendship,introducing an endearing female character and telling a really absorbing tale (again written by Jose Giovanni)