''The Sucker'' (french: link=no, Le Corniaud, ) is a French, Italian and Spanish comedy film by

Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish orig ...

starring

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fil ...

and

Bourvil André Robert Raimbourg (; 27 July 1917 – 23 September 1970), better known as André Bourvil (), and mononymously as Bourvil, was a French actor and singer best known for his roles in comedy films, most notably in his collaboration with Louis ...

Plot

Leaving

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

for his summer vacation, the naïve Antoine Maréchal has his 2CV totally wrecked in a collision with the

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, Nort ...

of company director Léopold Saroyan. As compensation, Saroyan offers Maréchal the chance to drive a friend's 1964 white

Cadillac DeVille The Cadillac DeVille is the nameplate used by Cadillac over eight generations, originally used to designate a trim level of the 1949 Cadillac Series 62 and later to designate a standalone model in the brand range. The last model marketed specif ...

convertible from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

, all expenses paid. Unknown to Maréchal, Saroyan is the leader of a criminal gang and the Cadillac is filled with

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

and precious stones, including the largest

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

in the world, the Youkounkoun. Maréchal collects the car in Naples from where, unknown to him, Saroyan and his associates shadow him. Unknown to Saroyan, an Italian gang are aware of the Cadillac's contents and are shadowing it as well. After an accident, in which the repairman finds and removes the gold, Maréchal reaches

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where a pretty manicurist called Gina joins him. She only does it to make her fiancé jealous and then finds a pretty German hitchhiker called Ursula to accompany him. At night the Italian gang steal the Cadillac but are chased by Saroyan's gang, who capture it after a gun battle in which all the heroin is destroyed and return it to Maréchal. Mickey, one of the Italian crooks, seduces Ursula, who invites him to join them. In an isolated spot, Mickey then tries to kill Maréchal, but Ursula sabotages the battery so that he cannot make off with the car and saves Maréchal's life. Left on his own, Maréchal gets a new battery and throws the ruined one, full of diamonds, into the sea. Crossing the border into France at

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

, Maréchal sees Saroyan's car being stripped by the police. He realises that the car they want must be the one he is driving and that Saroyan must be crooked. Heading for

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aud ...

, he rings an old friend who is now chief of police there. Still tracked by Saroyan and the Italians, he lures them all into the unmarked side door of the police station, where they are arrested. Taking the Cadillac on the last leg to

, he has another accident, in which he finds the Youkounkoun. There is a reward of 100 million francs for its return.

Cast

as Antoine Maréchal *

as Léopold Saroyan *

Venantino Venantini Venantino Venantini (17 April 1930 – 9 October 2018) was an Italian film actor.Henri Génès Henri Génès (2 July 1919 – 22 August 2005) was a French singer and actor who appeared in such films as ''The Sucker'', ''La Grande Vadrouille'', '' The Brain'', ''The Counterfeit Constable'', and '' The Little Bather''. He was born in Tarbes ...

as Martial *

Beba Lončar Desanka "Beba" Lončar (Serbian Cyrillic: Десанка „Беба“ Лончар; born 28 April 1943) is a former Yugoslav film actress. She appeared in 52 films between 1960 and 1982. She was born in Belgrade, Serbia. Known for her film car ...

as Ursula *

Nino Vingelli Nino Vingelli (4 June 1912 – 26 March 2003) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1941 and 2000. Selected filmography * ''I mariti (Tempesta d'anime)'' (1941) * '' The Betrothed'' (1941) - (uncredited) * '' ...

as Tagliella *

Alida Chelli Alida Chelli (23 October 1943 – 14 December 2012) was an Italian singer, and actress. She was mainly known for her appearances in stage musicals. Biography Born in Carpi as Alida Rustichelli, Chelli was daughter of composer Carlo Rustichelli ...

as Gina * Lando Buzzanca as Lino * Jacques Ferrière as a gangster, chauffeur de Saroyan * Jean Droze as a gangster, complice de Saroyan * Jack Ary as Customs Officer * Pierre Roussel as Mario Costa

Reception

Poste de douane de Menton (Alpes-Maritimes)

It was the most popular film at the French box office in 1965. As of 2019, it is still one of the 25 most watched films in France along with ''

La Grande Vadrouille ''La Grande Vadrouille'' (; literally "The Great Stroll"; originally released in the United Kingdom as ''Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!'') is a 1966 French-British comedy film set in 1942 about French civilians who help the crew of a Royal ...

'', another Oury–de Funès–Bourvil collaboration. The film was entered into the

4th Moscow International Film Festival The 4th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 July 1965. The Grand Prix was shared between the Soviet film ''War and Peace'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and the Hungarian film '' Twenty Hours'' directed by Zoltán Fábri. Ju ...

where the actor

won a Special Diploma.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sucker, The 1965 comedy films 1965 films Films directed by Gérard Oury French comedy road movies Spanish comedy films Italian comedy road movies Films produced by Robert Dorfmann Films scored by Georges Delerue 1960s Italian films 1960s French films