"The Brain" is a very funny caper comedy movie that takes place in Italy, France, England and the U.S. All the languages are spoken by the story locales and characters. English is interspersed in places. French is the main language, with the main action taking place in France. The opening song, "The Brain," with the title and credits is in English, and the title reads, "The Brain = Le cerveau." The film was made by the French Gaumont studios and was released across much of the European continent beginning with France in March 1969. It opened in the U.S. in November, and didn't show in the UK until 1970. The U.S. box office alone was more than 10 times the budget for the film. It was the most popular film in France in 1969.
The plot is about a train robbery of £5 million ($7 million plus) in 1968 (more than $50 million in 2018). It follows on the heels of the actual 1963 Great Train Robbery in the UK. For this fictional robbery, three separate stories get intermingled. The Brain is supposed to be an Englishman who masterminded the UK robbery. By the way, the outcome of that took many years to round up and bring to justice most of the crooks involved. But very little of the loot was ever recovered.
The Brain makes a Sicilian contact in Italy to launder the money from the heist. And, a couple of petty thieves in France hatch their own plan to rob the same train, using the methods of the Great Train Robbery. Neither the English nor the French planners are aware of the other group's existence or plan. All of this, plus a surprise twist adds up to some very funny antics.
The cast of main characters follows the nationalities of the countries in which the film takes place. The main French stars are Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil as Arthur and Anatole, respectively. The English star, The Brain, is David Niven as Col. Carol Matthews. American actor Eli Wallach plays the Mafia leader from Sicily, and Silvia Monti plays his sister, Sofia. Most of the supporting cast are French.
"The Brain" has small doses of funny dialog, but most of the humor is in the antics and hilarious situations. It has a very funny plot with many humorous scenes. A pet leopard of Col. Matthews leads to one huge hilarious scene of destruction of a lavish apartment, complete with an aquarium size fish tank. The film has a little bit of everything, from a long distance car chase to massive fireworks. The last one-third is riotously funny.
This is a must see film for those who enjoy comedy, especially antics. For slapstick, it comes quite close to the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges. Here are some favorite lines from the film.
Frankie Scannapieco, "I gave my word to mother and father that I would keep you as pure as gold. That's why I didn't take you to America." Anatole, "You're not thinking of hijacking 14 nations?" Arthur, "It's not like France is still under NATO." Anatole, "Okay. That changes everything, but..."
Col. Matthews, finding the train car empty but the gang telling him the bags are all loaded below, says, "I do not understand. Strange. And I'm so clever."
The plot is about a train robbery of £5 million ($7 million plus) in 1968 (more than $50 million in 2018). It follows on the heels of the actual 1963 Great Train Robbery in the UK. For this fictional robbery, three separate stories get intermingled. The Brain is supposed to be an Englishman who masterminded the UK robbery. By the way, the outcome of that took many years to round up and bring to justice most of the crooks involved. But very little of the loot was ever recovered.
The Brain makes a Sicilian contact in Italy to launder the money from the heist. And, a couple of petty thieves in France hatch their own plan to rob the same train, using the methods of the Great Train Robbery. Neither the English nor the French planners are aware of the other group's existence or plan. All of this, plus a surprise twist adds up to some very funny antics.
The cast of main characters follows the nationalities of the countries in which the film takes place. The main French stars are Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil as Arthur and Anatole, respectively. The English star, The Brain, is David Niven as Col. Carol Matthews. American actor Eli Wallach plays the Mafia leader from Sicily, and Silvia Monti plays his sister, Sofia. Most of the supporting cast are French.
"The Brain" has small doses of funny dialog, but most of the humor is in the antics and hilarious situations. It has a very funny plot with many humorous scenes. A pet leopard of Col. Matthews leads to one huge hilarious scene of destruction of a lavish apartment, complete with an aquarium size fish tank. The film has a little bit of everything, from a long distance car chase to massive fireworks. The last one-third is riotously funny.
This is a must see film for those who enjoy comedy, especially antics. For slapstick, it comes quite close to the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges. Here are some favorite lines from the film.
Frankie Scannapieco, "I gave my word to mother and father that I would keep you as pure as gold. That's why I didn't take you to America." Anatole, "You're not thinking of hijacking 14 nations?" Arthur, "It's not like France is still under NATO." Anatole, "Okay. That changes everything, but..."
Col. Matthews, finding the train car empty but the gang telling him the bags are all loaded below, says, "I do not understand. Strange. And I'm so clever."