Les Cinq Dernières Minutes
| Les Cinq Dernières Minutes | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime |
| Created by | Claude Loursais |
| Written by | Claude Loursais |
| Starring | Raymond Souplex |
| Country of origin | France |
| Original language(s) | French |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 155 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Claude Loursais |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | RTF, Antenne 2 |
| Original release | 1 January 1958 – 20 December 1996 |
Les Cinq Dernières Minutes (The Last Five Minutes) is a crime based French television series, created by Claude Loursais, broadcast from 1 January 1958 till 20 December 1996. The show was aired in four series on several channels.
The first series was broadcast in 56 episodes between 1 January 1958 and 7 November 1973 on RTF. After an intermediary series of four 90 minute episodes were broadcast from 19 July 1974 to 16 January 1975, a second 72 episode series was broadcast from 1975 to 1993, then a third 17 episode series from 1993 to 1996 was broadcast on Antenne 2.
Les Cinq Dernières Minutes was the first long-running series about police inquiries on French television. Each episode is based on an investigation where the viewer, accompanied by Commissioner Inspector Antoine Bourrel and his assistant Deputy Dupuy, must find clues which will help find the culprit. The programme often takes place in unconventional environments or situations, such as at a racecourse, scrap dealers, the Eiffel tower or a commercial printing business.
At the beginning, the series was a gameshow, which was filmed in studio and broadcast live. Two selected viewers took part and had to guess who was guilty when inspector Bourrel said the famous line: "Good God! But it’s… Of course!". Each of the two contestants had the opportunity to repeat two parts of the show, which would also be seen by the audience at home. This famously happened during the pilot episode when glasses of Champagne were given out. In some of the original episodes, there was also participation from the viewers at home, but this was abandoned during the first series.
Over time, many actors and personalities have featured on the show, including: Micheline Boudet, Jean-Pierre Andréani, Françoise Fabian, Guy Kerner, Ginette Leclerc, Rellys, Pierre Brasseur, Henri Virlogeux, Bernard Fresson, Henri Crémieux, Jacques Monod, Henri Vilbert, André Valmy, Robert Vattier, Serge Gainsbourg, Christian Rauth, Sylvain Joubert, Marie Marquet, Serge Martina, Anémone, Jean Topart, Jean-François Poron, Paul Le Person, Jess Hahn, Marie-Georges Pascal, Pierre Clémenti, Michel Robin
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