Lino Ventura

Acting

Lino Ventura

Born — Died

1919-07-13 — 1987-10-22

Place of birth

Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Known for

Acting

Credits

73 titles

Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian-born actor and philanthropist, who lived and worked for most of his life in France. He was considered one of the greatest leading men of French cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, known for his portrayal of tough characters on both sides of the law in crime dramas. Born in Parma and raised in Paris, Ventura worked as a professional wrestler before an injury ended his career. He made his film debut as a gangster in the 1954 Jacques Becker film Touchez pas au grisbi and rapidly became one of France's favourite film actors, playing opposite many other great stars and working with such lea…

Known for

Film credits

1980s · 9 titles

The Inquisitor poster
7.5

Martinaud, an illustrious notary suspected of being the perpetrator of two horrendous crimes, voluntarily agrees to be questioned by Inspector Gallien on New Year's Eve. What initially is a routine procedure, soon becomes a harsh interrogation that seems to confirm the initial suspicions.

The Inquisitor

1981

Les Misérables poster
7.0

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.

Les Misérables

1982

Sunday Lovers poster
5.8

A sex comedy anthology containing four stories, each from a different country (England, France, USA and Italy). "An Englishman's Home" "The French Method" "Armando's Notebook" "Skippy"

Sunday Lovers

1980

One Hundred Days in Palermo poster
6.9

In the late 1970s and early 80s, assassinations in Sicily get the attention of Communist deputy, Pio La Torre, who appeals to General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa to become prefect in Palermo and take on the Mafia. Dalla Chiesa approaches the job with the same focus and methods he used in hunting down the Red Brigade.

One Hundred Days in Palermo

1984

The French poster
7.2

Roland-Garros, 1981: For the very first time, a documentary team is allowed to shoot sequences in the backstage of the French Open of tennis of Roland-Garros. William Klein's camera takes us on the heels of the greatest players of the time: Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Chris Evert-Lloyd, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Yannick Noah, Guillermo Vilas... Miles of film. Historical pictures, a thousand and one details, a thousand and one unusual scenes. A declaration of love from a tennis lover.

The French

1982

The Seventh Target poster
6.0

Bastien Grimaldy, a man driven to heightened anxiety as the plot against him begins to take effect. Bastien's personal relationships give him enough cause for anxiety -- between his new lover Laura and a feisty mother, life provides its own insecurities. When he goes to the police with his problems, Bastien is assigned an off-beat inspector to protect him but is still faced with skepticism about his dilemma.

The Seventh Target

1984

Sword of Gideon poster
6.6

Chronicles a Mossad team hand picked to hunt down the terrorists involved in the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes.

Sword of Gideon

1986

Spy, Stand Up poster
7.2

Sebastien Grenier, a former French spy, is working as a financial analyst in Zurich. However, his peaceful existence starts to disintegrate when he is recruited by a top French intelligence operative to discover how one of their own secret agents was found out and executed in broad daylight.

Spy, Stand Up

1982

The Ruffian poster
6.3

The adventures of a group of friends who plan to recover crates full of gold from a fall in Canada.

The Ruffian

1983

1970s · 15 titles

The French Detective poster
6.7

When political thugs murder an opponent's volunteer and also kill a cop, chief inspector Verjeat believes the politician who hired them is as guilty as the murderous goon. Verjeat's pursuit of the councilman, Lardatte, gets him a warning from his superiors. When he embarrasses Lardatte while disarming a hostage (the dead volunteer's father), Verjeat is told he's being transferred within a week. He speeds up his hunt for the goon and, with Lefévre, one of his young detectives, he engineers a complicated scheme to buy more time before the transfer. How should Verjeat play out his values of honor and duty?

The French Detective

1975

The Medusa Touch poster
6.8

A French detective in London reconstructs the life of a man lying in hospital with severe injuries with the help of journals and a psychiatrist. He realises that the man had powerful telekinetic abilities.

The Medusa Touch

1978

Rum Runners poster
4.7

During the prohibition era, Cornelius, a bootlegger, is on the run from the American coastguards. He comes across a silent film actress, Linda, on the set of a movie and falls in love with her.

Rum Runners

1971

A Pain in the Ass poster
7.0

Ralf Milan, a hitman, arrives in Montpellier to kill an important witness. He checks in a hotel without knowing that his neighbour has become neurotic after his wife left him.

A Pain in the Ass

1973

Illustrious Corpses poster
6.8

A detective is assigned to investigate the mysterious murders of some Supreme Court judges.

Illustrious Corpses

1976

The Valachi Papers poster
6.5

When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.

The Valachi Papers

1972

Money Money Money poster
6.7

When they realize the times are changing, five crooks decide to switch from bank robberies to personality abductions.

Money Money Money

1972

Butterfly on the Shoulder poster
6.0

On a stopover in Barcelona, Fériaud Roland discovers a corpse in the hotel room next door. He wakes up in a strange clinic without remembering who brought him there. The doctor insists he hallucinated, but it's not long before he obtains evidence that it wasn't a dream.

Butterfly on the Shoulder

1978

Last Known Address poster
7.3

Marceau Léonetti, a competent and energetic officer stops by chance the son of an influential lawyer driving under the influence of alcohol. A few months later, the lawyer falsely accuses Léonetti as being violent and incompetent. As a result Marceau is transferred to a small police station, where he meets young and beautiful Jeanne. Soon they are faced with a tough investigation.

Last Known Address

1970

The Cage poster
6.0

The story of a woman who is suddenly visited by her estranged ex-husband. The ex-hubby wants to buy her country house, which she received in the divorce settlement. Instead he finds himself locked in a cage in the cellar.

The Cage

1975

The Silent One poster
7.3

Who is Anton Haliakov, who has just been abducted by the M.I.5 in London? A Soviet scientist apparently. But sixteen years before the man had another identity, Clément Tibère, and another nationality, French. So what led him to become Russian and to change identity? And why are the British secret services interested in him?

The Silent One

1973

Three Tough Guys poster
5.1

Isaac Hayes plays as Lee in his feature film debut, as Father Charlie and himself solve a bank robbery mystery that stretches across the city. After Lee is removed from the force due to $1,000,000 being stolen from the bank Father Charlie helps him to gain revenge for the loss of one of his friends.

Three Tough Guys

1974

Happy New Year poster
7.2

Released from prison under a New Year amnesty, a criminal tries to pick up the threads of a life changed not only by his daring plan to rob a jewelry store in out-of-season Cannes, but also by a very special someone he met there.

Happy New Year

1973

Fantasia Among the Squares poster
5.0

Sagamore Noonan lives in seclusion on a farm in Alabama, where he distills moonshine during Prohibition. He receives a visit from his brother Doc Noonan and his son Billy. A young stripper and her gangster boyfriend come to disturb their peace.

Fantasia Among the Squares

1971

Jig-Saw poster
5.6

Romain Dupree arrives to Montreal from France only to be informed that his son is dead. However, the deceased is not his son, but an individual who was using his passport. Dupree begins a frantic search for his son, who happens to be wanted by the local mob.

Jig-Saw

1979

1960s · 20 titles

The Big Risk poster
7.0

Two men pull off a daring daylight payroll heist in Milan, making a fast getaway. One is returning to France after years in hiding, needing money to start fresh with his family.

The Big Risk

1960

Army of Shadows poster
7.9

Betrayed by an informant, Philippe Gerbier finds himself trapped in a torturous Nazi prison camp. Though Gerbier escapes to rejoin the Resistance in occupied Marseilles, France, and exacts his revenge on the informant, he must continue a quiet, seemingly endless battle against the Nazis in an atmosphere of tension, paranoia and distrust.

Army of Shadows

1969

The Devil and the Ten Commandments poster
5.7

The film consists of seven roughly 15 minute episodes, each showing what will happen if one or more of the Ten Commandments will be broken: Jérome Chambard is warned that he will lose his job if he continues to swear; Françoise Beaufort enamored of a stripper calls on her only to find her married to a janitor who doesn't know what kind of dancing his wife performs; Denis, a Jesuit novice, leaves the order to avenge his sister's suicide, which was provoked by Garigny, who seduced her into prostitution and drug addiction; Philip buys a necklace for Micheline though he is bored with her; a young man find out that his real mother is not Madeleine, but actress Clarisse Ardant; Didier Marin, cashier of a bank, was fired by his boss; the Devil appears as a serpent for Jérome Chambard and the bishop are eating.

The Devil and the Ten Commandments

1962

The Last Adventure poster
6.9

Two adventurers and best friends, Roland and Manu, are the victims of a practical joke that costs Manu his pilot's license. With seeming contrition, the jokesters tell Roland and Manu about a crashed plane lying on the ocean floor off the coast of Congo stuffed with riches. The adventurers set off to find the loot.

The Last Adventure

1967

The Sicilian Clan poster
7.6

An ambitious mobster plans an elaborate diamond heist while seducing the daughter-in-law of a ruthless mob patriarch as a determined police commissioner closes in on all of them.

The Sicilian Clan

1969

Let's Not Get Angry poster
7.5

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.

Let's Not Get Angry

1966

Greed in the Sun poster
7.1

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.

Greed in the Sun

1964

The Great Spy Chase poster
6.9

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.

The Great Spy Chase

1964

Taxi for Tobruk poster
7.1

During World War II, French Commandos join forces with a German officer in order to survive the African desert.

Taxi for Tobruk

1961

Crooks in Clover poster
7.7

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.

Crooks in Clover

1963

Le Deuxième Souffle poster
7.7

A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.

Le Deuxième Souffle

1966

To Skin a Spy poster
5.8

A French secret agent gets a license to kill when he is sent to Vienna to plug a security leak in this routine spy saga. He is caught in the crossfire of international enemy agents trying to eliminate the French.

To Skin a Spy

1966

The Threepenny Opera poster
5.8

The Gangster Macheath secretly marries the daughter of beggar king Peachum. When Peachum finds out, he instructs the police chief Brown to arrest and hang Macheath. If not, all the beggars of Soho will disturb the upcoming coronation.

The Threepenny Opera

1963

The Dictator's Guns poster
6.1

An experienced skipper is hired to buy a boat from an American heiress in the Caribbean, but when the boat vanishes and bodies surface, he realizes he’s been framed for arms trafficking.

The Dictator's Guns

1965

Cloportes poster
6.3

Three little criminals get a tip for a great coup with lots of money in it. Unfortunately they lack the starting funds to buy the required welding torch. So they persuade their successful colleague Alphonse to join their team. But the well thought-out coup fails, and Alphonse is the only one of them who ends up in jail for several years. When he's released, he's out for revenge.

Cloportes

1965

Black City poster
7.7

A charming rogue, the self-proclaimed leader of Naples, locks horns with an American Army general and a police inspector.

Black City

1961

The Wise Guys poster
7.9

Hector Valentin returns to France from Canada when he inherits a small sawmill. He has difficulties restarting the run-down operation which has inefficient workers and is hampered by the dirty tactics of its bigger...

The Wise Guys

1965

Girl in the Window poster
6.1

Two miners, Italians Federico and Vincenzo take off together for the city's red-light district, where the women pose in windows for prospective customers.

Girl in the Window

1961

The Last Judgment poster
6.4

In Naples, a voice from the skies announces one morning that the final judgment will be at 6 p.m. on that day. What follows is a series of vignettes depicting various people's reactions (or lack thereof) to the announcement.

The Last Judgment

1961

Mistress of the World - Part I poster
6.8

Professor Johansson has made a huge scientific breakthrough; a device that will create a huge magnetic pulse that knocks out all electricity over a continent-wide area. The military applications are already being thought of when Dr. Johansson is kidnapped by a group of profit-seeking mercenaries. Meanwhile, his daughter, Karin, finds herself having to consort with all manner of shady characters as she searches for her father.

Mistress of the World - Part I

1960

1950s · 13 titles

Elevator to the Gallows poster
7.6

A self-assured businessman murders his employer, husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

Elevator to the Gallows

1958

Razzia poster
6.7

Henri, the Man from Nantes, comes back to his country after a successful stay in the United States, where he was working for Liski, the drug dealer. With the fame of being a tough guy preceding him, he sets himself to the task of knowing why the French operations were not so profitable - and soon he is master of all links of the organization. He can now get it honed to perfection - or destroy it. Only... the Police are following his every step.

Razzia

1955

The Lovers of Montparnasse poster
6.9

Biographic film chronicling the last year of the life of the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani, 1919, who falls in love with a girl from a wealthy family. Her parents are against this relationship and stop financial help. Modigliani worked and died in abject poverty in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France.

The Lovers of Montparnasse

1958

Touchez Pas au Grisbi poster
7.2

Gentleman gangster Max and his partner, Riton, pull off their last, most successful heist and find themselves comfortable enough to retire in the style they enjoy. However, Max confides the details of the theft to his younger mistress, Josey -- who has secretly taken up with ambitious young rival gangster Angelo. Angelo then has Riton kidnapped and demands the stash of gold as ransom, which threatens Max's dreams of the perfect retirement.

Touchez Pas au Grisbi

1954

The Beast Is Loose poster
6.3

Paul Lamiani, a wizened mobster, is asked to return to duty following the disappearance of secret documents of extreme importance. It is assumed that they are in the hands of a friend of Paul. But the case becomes even more delicate when Lamiani's son is kidnapped.

The Beast Is Loose

1959

Maigret Sets a Trap poster
7.0

Four women are murdered, each knifed and, despite torn garments, remain virtuous. As famed police inspector Jules Maigret pieces the clues together, he comes to realise that for the elusive man that he suspects to be unmasked, he has to set a trap.

Maigret Sets a Trap

1958

Way of Youth poster
6.2

This movie is a Marcel Aymé adaptation and it deals with the not-so-glorious side of the Occupation: black market, war profiteers, cracking open bottles of Champagne while most of the Parisians are almost starving.

Way of Youth

1959

The Mask of the Gorilla poster
6.1

Géo Paquet, aka The Gorilla, breaks from jail. Now an escaped convict, the elite agent must infiltrate a dangerous gang working for a foreign embassy as their leader, a spy enjoying diplomatic immunity, can't be arrested by regular police.

The Mask of the Gorilla

1958

Witness in the City poster
6.3

Industrialist Pierre Verdier kills his mistress Jeanne Ancelin by throwing her off a train. Her husband, Ancelin, decides to take revenge on his wife's murderer, who has been acquitted by justice.

Witness in the City

1959

Twelve Hours by the Clock poster
4.4

Three criminals escape from a French prison and hide in a coastal village where they have to wait for 12 hours until the boat that is supposed to take them to freedom arrives.

Twelve Hours by the Clock

1959

Law of the Streets poster
7.5

Yves Tréguier, a young orphan, escapes from a reform school in Brittany to join "Dédé la Glace" in Paris, an old-timer with whom he has a sincere friendship. The love of Zette, a young girl he has met, and the benevolent friendship of Father Blain, the bistro owner, give him the desire for regular work. "Jo le Grec", a pimp jealous of Dédé's friendship with Yves, seduces Wanda, a prostitute he loves, and shoots Dédé dead. Blain prevents him from doing the same to Yves, and shoots him in turn. Yves can live an honest life with Zette and the baby she's expecting.

Law of the Streets

1956

Marie-Octobre poster
7.3

A group of ex-resistance fighters are brought together by Marie-Octobre, the code name of Marie-Helene Dumoulin. The former members of the network have carried on with their lives after the war, but this evening they are going to have to live again a fateful night – the night their leader was killed. He had been betrayed, his name given to the Germans. The search for the traitor puts each personality in the spotlight – and also that of the killed leader, Castille.

Marie-Octobre

1959

Three Days to Live poster
5.4

Struggling actor Simon witnesses a murder; he didn't see the killer, but that doesn't stop him from claiming that he did in order to get his name into the papers. Sure enough, the murderer targets him as his next victim. Our hero is temporarily rescued by Jeanne, a fellow aspiring actress who has always had a crush on him.

Three Days to Live

1958

Series credits

Spécial cinéma poster
9.5

Marcello Mastroianni, Isabelle Adjani, Alain Delon, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen... the biggest stars in cinema were welcomed by Christian Defaye on his show Spécial cinéma. Between intimate confessions from actors and immersion in the world of the greatest filmmakers, Christian Defaye took viewers on a journey into the fascinating world of cinema for nearly thirty years.

Spécial cinéma

1974

Sacrée soirée poster
5.7

No synopsis available yet.

Sacrée soirée

1987

Champs-Elysées poster
6.8

No synopsis available yet.

Champs-Elysées

1982

Le monde est à vous poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Le monde est à vous

1987

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche poster
6.0

A talk show presented by Michel Drucker

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

1975

Numéro un poster
7.5

A French variety show.

Numéro un

1975

Le Grand Échiquier poster
8.0

Le Grand Échiquier is a French variety television program created and presented by Jacques Chancel. It aired at 8:30 pm on the first channel of the ORTF from January 12, 1972 to July 12, 1972, then on the second color channel of the ORTF from September 1972 to December 1974, and finally on Antenne 2 from January 1975 to December 21, 1989. The program returned to France 2 on December 20, 2018 and is hosted by Anne-Sophie Lapix.

Le Grand Échiquier

1972

Le Grand Échiquier poster
8.0

Le Grand Échiquier is a French variety television program created and presented by Jacques Chancel. It aired at 8:30 pm on the first channel of the ORTF from January 12, 1972 to July 12, 1972, then on the second color channel of the ORTF from September 1972 to December 1974, and finally on Antenne 2 from January 1975 to December 21, 1989. The program returned to France 2 on December 20, 2018 and is hosted by Anne-Sophie Lapix.

Le Grand Échiquier

1972

Midi trente poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Midi trente

1972

Cinépanorama poster
8.7

No synopsis available yet.

Cinépanorama

1956

Ciné regards poster
5.0

No synopsis available yet.

Ciné regards

1978

Cérémonie des César poster
4.6

The César Awards are cinematographic awards created in 1976 and presented annually in Paris to professionals of the 7th art in various categories to recognize the best French productions. They are often cited as the French equivalent of the Oscars in the United States.

Cérémonie des César

1976

Auf los geht's los poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Auf los geht's los

1977