''Boulevard du Rhum'' also known as ''Rum Runners'' is a 1971 French-Italian-Spanish adventure film directed by

Robert Enrico Robert Georgio Enrico (13 April 1931 – 23 February 2001) was a French film director and scriptwriter best known for making the Oscar-winning short ''An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'' (1961). He was born in Liévin, Pas-de-Calais, in the nort ...

and produced by Alain Poiré. It is based on Jacques Pecheral's novel of the same name. It stars

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

and Lino Ventura and was released in France on 13 October 1971.

Plot

Set in the

prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic be ...

, a rum runner (Ventura) in the Caribbean falls in love with a beautiful

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

star, Linda Larue (Bardot).

Cast

as Linda Larue * Lino Ventura as Cornelius von Zeelinga *

Bill Travers William Inglis Lindon Travers (3 January 1922 – 29 March 1994) was a British actor, screenwriter, director and animal rights activist. Prior to his show business career, he served in the British army with Gurkha and special forces units. E ...

as Sanderson *

Clive Revill Clive Revill is a New Zealand actor, best known for his performances in musical theatre and the London stage. A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has also starred in numerous films and television programmes, often in character parts. ...

as Lord Hammond *La Polaca as Catharina *

Jess Hahn Jesse Beryle Hahn (October 29, 1921June 29, 1998) was an American-French character actor who mostly starred in French films. Biography After serving with the Marines in the Second World War, he moved to France in 1949 and took French citizen ...

as Piet aka "Big Dutch" *

Antonio Casas Antonio Casas (11 November 1911 – 14 February 1982) was a Spanish footballer turned film actor who appeared in film between 1941 and his death in 1982. Casas originally began as a footballer for Atlético Madrid, but entered film in 1941 and ...

as Wilkinson * Andreas Voutsinas as Alvarez *

Guy Marchand Guy Marchand (born 22 May 1937) is a French actor, musician and singer. He is best known for his role as fictional private detective Nestor Burma. Selected filmography * 1962: '' The Longest Day'' as an extra (Uncredited) * 1975: '' Cousin ...

as Ronald / The Actor * Jack Betts as Renner * Florence Giorgetti as Linda's guest

Production

The film began shooting in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

in September 1970. The film was also partially shot in Parisian studios and in

Andalucia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' regarded the film as a professional breakthrough for Bardot, deeming it as a signifier of "the death of a star—the last star, perhaps—and the birth of an actress: Brigitte Bardot."Boulevard du Rhum (1971) Paris: Bardot -- From Star to Actress
The New York Times. 22 November 1971

Soundtrack

The score and soundtrack were composed by François de Roubaix, with Bardot lending her vocals to certain songs. *1. Chant des rumrunners / Générique *2. Sur le boulevard du rhum (by Brigitte Bardot) *3. Le jeu de l'aveugle *4. La posada / Gramophone rumba *5. Chanson de Ronald (by Guy Marchand) *6. Ragtime du ver solitaire *7. Bataille navale *8. Tango del patio *9. Linda et Cornelius (Version 1) *10. MacAlister's wedding song I (by Joe Turner) *11. Ben-moor hôtel *12. Au cinéma muet *13. Plaisir d'amour (by Brigitte Bardot and Guy Marchand) *14. Prohibition rag *15. Linda et Cornelius (Version 2)

References

External links

* {{Robert Enrico 1971 films French adventure films 1970s French-language films Films based on French novels Films directed by Robert Enrico 1970s adventure films Films set in the 1920s Films set in the Caribbean Seafaring films Films about prohibition in the United States Films shot in Almería Films scored by François de Roubaix 1970s French films