Michel Audiard’s Typical Vibe
Signature vibe
Highest-ranked title
Highest-ranked title
Michel Audiard has 19 titles in the CriticCrunch catalog across a career spanning the 1950s through the 1980s. 1 ranks in the Top 10%, led by Crooks in Clover.
Recurring themes
An aging gangster, Fernand Naudin is hoping for a quiet retirement when he suddenly inherits a fortune from an old friend, a former gangster supremo known as the Mexican. If he is ambivalent about his new found wealth, Fernand is positively nonplussed to discover that he has also inherited his benefactor’s daughter, Patricia. Unfortunately, not only does Fernand have to put up with the thoroughly modern Patricia and her nauseating boyfriend, but he also had to contend with the Mexican’s trigger-happy former employees, who are determined to make a claim.
Dir. Georges Lautner · With Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche

Josselin Beaumont, a French secret agent, is tasked with assassinating Njala, the president for life of Malawi in Africa. A shift in French policy means that assassinating Njala is no longer an option. But instead of recalling their agent, high-ranking officials deliberately sacrifice Beaumont by handing him over to the Malawian authorities. Arrested, tried, and imprisoned, he nevertheless manages to escape. Back in Paris after a two-year absence, he informs his superiors through Colonel Martin that he will fulfill his contract during Njala’s upcoming official visit to Paris between the 12th and 15th of this month, and that he has a few scores to settle with the D.G.S.E. The question is, should Beaumont be stopped or not?
Dir. Georges Lautner · With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Robert Hossein, Elisabeth Margoni

During World War II, an innkeeper vows to abstain from alcohol for the sake of his family. Years later, as they thrive in Normandy, his resolve is tested by a charming advertising professional who loves to drink.
Dir. Henri Verneuil · With Jean Gabin, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Suzanne Flon
One-time gangster Antoine is enjoying retirement on the coast, now managing a boating club. He receives a visit from a former accomplice who asks for a loan. The money will be repaid by a crook who is now in hiding; Antoine intends to recover his money.
Dir. Georges Lautner · With Lino Ventura, Jean Lefebvre, Michel Constantin

A truck driver ventures into the Moroccan desert to retrieve a stolen truck, facing danger, bad luck, and uneasy alliances. Chaos builds to a climactic showdown.
Dir. Henri Verneuil · With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier
Philippe Jordan is a policeman prone to advancing the cause of justice by any means necessary. On his agenda is a powerful drug cartel working out of Paris and Marseilles, with a drug lord who is essentially inaccessible -- but not immortal.
Dir. Jacques Deray · With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Henry Silva, Carlos Sotto Mayor

During World War II, French Commandos join forces with a German officer in order to survive the African desert.
Dir. Denys de La Patellière · With Hardy Krüger, Lino Ventura, Charles Aznavour
A cold-war spy parody. After the death of an armaments manufacturer, an international group of spies is drawn into a high-stakes battle of wits to obtain the valuable military patents which have been inherited by the lovely widow.
Dir. Georges Lautner · With Lino Ventura, Francis Blanche, Bernard Blier
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Dir. Jean-Paul Le Chanois · With Jean Gabin, Bernard Blier, Béatrice Altariba

Four women were murdered, each was knifed and, though they had their clothes torn, they weren't molested. As the famed police inspector Jules Maigret pieces the clues together, he comes to realize that for the elusive man that he suspects to be unmasked, he has to set him a trap.
Dir. Jean Delannoy · With Jean Gabin, Annie Girardot, Olivier Hussenot
"Le Dabe" retired many years ago and now he lives in the Tropics where he owns stables and horses. He is a very rich man. He was the king of all money counterfeiters. He is contacted from Paris to organize a new job. He says no. But when he finds out the the currency that should be counterfeited is the Dutch florin, he accepts immediately. He retired after having counterfeited 100 florin notes just before the Queen Wilhelmina retired them from circulation. He flies to Paris. But the gang is not to be trusted, at least not all of them.
Dir. Gilles Grangier · With Jean Gabin, Bernard Blier, Maurice Biraud
When the local police inspector was found dead in a prostitute's house, police division commissioner Stan Borowitz is sent to investigate the situation. Posing as the prostitute's long-lost brother "Antonio Cerruti," he discovers a mare's nest of police corruption. In fact, in this comedy thriller the whole town is corrupt. If they were closely examined, Stan's methods for pursuing this investigation might embarrass the police. For instance, he drives into a criminal's house in a fancy, expensive race car. In another incident, he callously blows up a casino owned by Musard , one of the town's crime bosses. On that occasion, he first forces Musard to remove his clothes, and the poor criminal watches his casino explode from across the square while standing naked in a phone booth. Meanwhile, Stan seduces the lovely Edmonde.
Dir. Georges Lautner · With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Georges Géret, Claude Brosset
Six months before his retirement from the criminal police, inspector Joss finds his colleague Gouvion dead, in a poorly faked suicide attempt. Joss loses his temper, and investigates on his own, which leads him through the bas-fond of Paris...
Dir. Georges Lautner · With Jean Gabin, Dany Carrel, André Pousse
Victor Vautier is incorrigible: he's in constant motion, working several cons at once, using different names and changing disguises. He's charming and outrageous, incapable of uttering a sentence that isn't embellished or an outright lie. His life goal is to make enough money to build a sea wall to protect Mont-Saint-Michel. Charlotte, a parole officer, shows up: she's young and seems taken in by Victor. He discovers she lives above the Senlus Museum, where her parents are the curators. With two pals he decides to steal a priceless El Greco triptych and then ransom it back to the cultural ministry. What will Charlotte do when she realizes he's used her to make a fortune?
Dir. Philippe de Broca · With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Geneviève Bujold, Julien Guiomar
Mike (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a stuntman who works with his girlfriend Jane (Raquel Welch). On their wedding day Mike and Jane are forced by producers to do a stunt for a film they are working on. Mike, annoyed doesn't look on the road and crashes the car causing them to end up in a hospital. After they come out Jane doesn't want to talk to Mike so he decides to get her a job in a film in which he is a stunt double for his double who is a star in action pictures but is in fact a wimp.
Dir. Claude Zidi · With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Raquel Welch, Dany Saval
After the failure of his recent criminal exploits, international con artist Alexandre Dupré sets off for Venice to try to dupe some Japanese business men into buying a fake copy of a stolen Caneletto. On the aeroplane, a stranger asks him to look after his briefcase until after they have landed. Alexandre agrees, but the stranger is shot dead soon after and Alexandre himself becomes the target of enemy agents who are keen to recover the briefcase...
Dir. Georges Lautner · With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Mirella D'Angelo, Michel Galabru
A man accused of murder discovers a trail of corruption leading to the powerful family of his former love. Going underground, he seeks allies in a town where trust is scarce.
Dir. Henri Verneuil · With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bernard Blier, Marie-France Pisier
A P.I. is obsessed with a cute woman, who seduces and kills rich men around W. Europe.
Dir. Claude Miller · With Michel Serrault, Isabelle Adjani, Guy Marchand
April 5, 1943: a battalion of the Foreign Legion arrives in El Ksour, Tunisia, to escort a fortune in gold bars to the home front. A German ambush awaits, and all but four die. Thanks to the street smarts of Sergeant Augagneur, the Legionnaires successfully counter attack. The bank manager and his seductive wife arrive, and so does a German lieutenant, whom the French arrest. Augagneur wants to steal the gold; warrant officer Mahuzard wants to do his duty. A series of alliances form and break apart, the group dwindles in number, and the gold heads south toward Betahoua. But in whose possession?
Dir. Henri Verneuil · With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Michel Constantin, Jacques Villeret
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