Le Cerveau
| The Brain | |
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Original film poster
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| Directed by | Gérard Oury |
| Produced by | Alain Poiré |
| Written by |
Gérard Oury Marcel Jullian Danièle Thompson |
| Starring |
Jean-Paul Belmondo Bourvil David Niven Eli Wallach Silvia Monti |
| Music by | Georges Delerue |
| Cinematography | Wladimir Ivanov |
| Edited by | Albert Jurgenson |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Paramount |
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Release date
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Running time
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115 minutes |
| Country | France Italy |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $3.6 million |
| Box office | $41.6 million |
The Brain (French: Le Cerveau) is a 1969 French comedy film directed by Gérard Oury, about a second train robbery by the brain behind the Great Train Robbery of 1963. It stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil as a pair of French petty crooks, David Niven as a British Army officer and Eli Wallach as a Sicilian mafioso.
Arthur, due for release from prison in four days' time, escapes to join his accomplice Anatole in robbing a night train carrying millions in cash from Paris to Brussels. The money belongs to NATO and in charge of its transit is Colonel Matthews, who in fact was the unknown mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery, nicknamed 'The Brain'.
In his plans for a repeat exploit, he recruits a mafioso called Scannapieco to launder the money for a small percentage. Visiting the Sicilian's villa outside Palermo, he catches the eye of his sister Sofia, who resolves to give him her virginity. This infuriates her brother, who considers his honour impugned and resolves that instead of a contemptible percentage he will take all the money himself.
The train sets off with the money, and with Arthur and Anatole disguised as railwaymen. The two incapacitate the guards in the secure coach with gas, free its couplings and, when it has rolled to a halt, throw the bags of cash down the embankment. However it is the precise spot where Colonel Matthews' team, disguised as firemen, are waiting. They scoop up the bags and make off with sirens blaring, leaving Arthur and Anatole to walk back to Paris penniless.
The firemen do not get far because they run into a roadblock, where the police reclaim the money and arrest Matthews. In fact, they are not police but disguised mafiosi, whose plan is to smuggle the money out of France in a replica of the Statue of Liberty. Hijacking a DS19, Arthur and Anatole give chase. Also in the chase at the wheel of a BMW 2000 coupé is Sofia, who has freed Matthews and locked her brother in a cabin trunk. All three groups of villains are pursued by the police, ending up on the dockside at Le Havre.
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Wikipedia