Les grandes gueules

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

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!

Les Grandes Gueules benefits from Robert Enrico's gusto for location shooting plus José Giovanni's talent for describing brawny he-male relationships. Thus the setup is great with those great French actors Bourvil and Lino Ventura. Then the supporting cast is pretty soon rounded up to strengthen the atmosphere but from there the movie is freewheeling, dragging its footage between subplots: the competition with the "monopolistic" sawmill, the tension at home between the tough guys, a touch of MacGuffin suspense and the vaguely romantic subplots.

What's enjoyable is the atmosphere of male camaraderie and the Vosges forest setting but there's not enough in the plot for the movie to last over 2 hours. What is more Lino Ventura has always been at a loss when it comes to playing a romantically involved character, let alone driving sexual chemistry. All in all an immature movie playing with its toys and friends until toys and friends are gone.

I don't know if Jose Giovanni and Robert Enrico made this movie as a tribute to the John Ford's atmosphere, or even Tay Garnett's: rough, tough guys, no reluctant to fist fight, big mouth, golden heart, manhood all over the place, generous in feelings. I also thought of Andrew Mac Laglen's films such as MC LINTOCK. OK Mac Laglen meant Ford, xanks to Victor Mc Laglen...So LES GRANDES GUEULES remains a classic of French film industry, especially from the sixties, a forever lost cinema. Giovanni and Enrico have worked together on LES AVENTURIERS, HO and this very one. LES AVENTURIERS is of course very close to this one, not only because Lino Ventura's presence but also because both movies are adapted from the same Jose Giovanni's book. It is long, two hours length, but you get never bored. In the equivalent US film, the producers would have hired their local heavies, such as Chuck Bronson, Ted de Corsia or Leo Gordon. Here you had Michel Constantin and Jess Hahn, who worked together again in L'ARDOISE, four years later.

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