Tonight on TV: Lino Ventura also knew how to play the bad guys


Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: a film based on the eponymous novel by Scottish author John Carrick.

Valoria Films

Forced to give up his career as a wrestler following an accident during a fight, Lino Ventura was immediately spotted by the film industry. His build and his “mouth” are perfectly suited to his first role, that of a gang leader, in Touchez pas au grisbi, where he stands up to the monumental Jean Gabin. From then on, the budding actor becomes the ideal interpreter of film noir, embodying tough-guy characters with a soft heart, whether they are on the good or the bad side of the law.

In 1960, Class All Risks by Claude Sautet marks his meeting with José Giovanni, successful author of the Black Series, with whom he will shoot three films. Eight years later, Lino Ventura notably encourages the latter to persevere in directing with Le Rapace, taken from the eponymous novel by Scotsman John Carrick.

This unusual thriller offers the actor one of his most singular roles, at a time when he precisely wishes to change register. José Giovanni exploits his complex and intimidating personality through a hitman character, who arrives in a fictional Latin American country in 1938 with the aim of assassinating the local dictator. Facing him, Xavier Marc portrays a young idealist supposed to take over the reins of power.

Thanks to this opposition, between a gruff, sadistic and taciturn mercenary (his first reply comes after a good quarter of an hour) and a naïve revolutionary, Le Rapace delivers an interesting reflection on political commitment, then echoing the conflict of generations of May 68.

The Raptor by José Giovanni with Lino Ventura, Xavier Marc, Rosa Furman…

Tonight on Arte at 8:55 p.m.



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