Michel Constantin

Acting

Michel Constantin

Born — Died

1924-07-13 — 2003-08-29

Place of birth

Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Known for

Acting

Credits

57 titles

Michel Constantin (born Constantin Hokhloff; 13 July 1924 – 28 August 2003) was a French actor and professional volleyball player. He was the men’s national volleyball champion from 1954 to 1956, before making his film debut as a convict in the 1960 prison thriller The Hole. Thanks to his stature and striking features, he became a popular character actor in crime films, often playing thugs and gangsters. He appeared in several films alongside his friend Charles Bronson during the 1970's. Born Constantin Hokhloff in Billancourt (near Paris), he was the son of a White Russian emigre father and his Polish wife. Hokhloff's father was a former officer in the Russian Army, of Kalmyk descent. He h…

Known for

Midi trente poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Midi trente

1972

No artwork available
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Samedi soir

1971

Cinépanorama poster
8.7

No synopsis available yet.

Cinépanorama

1956

Le Trou poster
8.2

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

Le Trou

1960

Big Man poster
5.5

The renowned Insurance International Co. has created an enquiry network, headed by detective Jack Clementi, to defend itself against insurance fraud. Jack has saved the company enormous amounts of money throughout his successful investigations and his bosses are more than willing put up with his brusque manners, his disconcerting frankness, and his intolerance for any form of company bureaucracy. Yet he is a big guy with a huge heart.

Big Man

1988

There Once Was a Cop poster
6.1

Campana, a commissar at the drugs bureau of Paris police gets an undercover job in Nice to catch an Italian-French mafia boss. As he slips into the identity of a gangster's brother, who was already killed, he has to play the role of a loving husband with child - something that is not so easy for a confirmed single like Campana. Unfortunately American killers chase behind the Nice mafia clan too, in order to get control of French drug trades to USA.

There Once Was a Cop

1972

Film credits

1980s · 9 titles

Shot Pattern poster
6.3

A Paris flea market vendor is transformed into a vigilante after his fiancée is murdered by three vicious thugs on a commuter train. As the revenge-minded young man tracks the killers, a veteran police inspector leads a parallel investigation.

Shot Pattern

1982

The Telephone Always Rings Twice poster
5.5

Marc Elbichon, a novice private sleuth, is investigating a wave of assassinations bearing a particular characteristic: the perpetrator, dubbed the "telephone killer" always strangles his female victims with a telephone cord.

The Telephone Always Rings Twice

1985

Fear in the City poster
9.0

Gianni Manera writes, directs and stars in this violent U.S. based story of Mafia members and Black gangsters fighting for turf.

Fear in the City

1981

La Baston poster
3.8

After doing some time in jail, René has finally said goodbye to his criminal past. But when his son is mortally ill and in desperate need of expensive medical help, René can't refuse the offer to crack a safe in a villa. What René and his pals don't know is that they serve as a decoy for criminals who have much bigger plans. Can he escape from the police?

La Baston

1985

Signé Furax poster
4.9

The notorious and mysterious criminal Furax steals France's famous monuments, replacing them with replicas.

Signé Furax

1981

Quarter to Two Before Jesus Christ poster
6.0

In ancient Rome, a simple pepboy for chars becomes involved in a coup against Cesar. Rahatlocum is a North African Roman colony where Julius Caesar came to spend an expensive holiday. The revolt rumbles among the locals who find a leader in the person of Ben-Hur Marcel.

Quarter to Two Before Jesus Christ

1982

The Vultures poster
6.0

April 5, 1943: a battalion of the Foreign Legion arrives in El Ksour, Tunisia, to escort a fortune in gold bars to the home front. A German ambush awaits, and all but four die. Thanks to the street smarts of Sergeant Augagneur, the Legionnaires successfully counter attack. The bank manager and his seductive wife arrive, and so does a German lieutenant, whom the French arrest. Augagneur wants to steal the gold; warrant officer Mahuzard wants to do his duty. A series of alliances form and break apart, the group dwindles in number, and the gold heads south toward Betahoua. But in whose possession?

The Vultures

1984

Le Deuxième Couteau poster
10.0

The entire Parisian literary scene is in turmoil: Sandra, a renowned author, has just been found strangled. Her murder is the subject of much speculation in her entourage, and some are tempted to conduct the investigation alone. All the more so as Commissioner Bartillot is obviously more sensitive to the charms of a suspect than to those of the case.

Le Deuxième Couteau

1985

La loi sauvage poster
3.0

A man escapes from prison, and leads in his run the woman of his life.

La loi sauvage

1988

1970s · 25 titles

There Once Was a Cop poster
6.1

Campana, a commissar at the drugs bureau of Paris police gets an undercover job in Nice to catch an Italian-French mafia boss. As he slips into the identity of a gangster's brother, who was already killed, he has to play the role of a loving husband with child - something that is not so easy for a confirmed single like Campana. Unfortunately American killers chase behind the Nice mafia clan too, in order to get control of French drug trades to USA.

There Once Was a Cop

1972

Violent City poster
6.0

A hitman is double-crossed by his girlfriend and barely escapes a murder attempt. He then sets out to take his revenge on the woman and the gang boss who put her up to it.

Violent City

1970

The Outside Man poster
6.1

A French hit man is hired by a crime family to end the life of a rival mobster, but things fall apart when the boss who hired him is killed.

The Outside Man

1972

The Inglorious Bastards poster
6.2

Set in Europe during WWII, a group of American soldiers on their way to military prison are beset upon by a German artillery attack, escaping with Switzerland in their sights. Before making it any farther, they volunteer to steal a V2 warhead for the French Underground - taking them deep into the heart of German territory.

The Inglorious Bastards

1978

The Pariah poster
6.8

For more than 15 years, two Marseille friends and criminals battle the law, rival gangs, prison authorities and even mined beaches in order to survive.

The Pariah

1972

Cold Sweat poster
5.7

During the Korean War, Joe Moran, is convicted for striking a colonel. Imprisoned in Germany he encounters his former company commander Captain Ross, jailed for black marketeering. Together with Ross' cohorts Joe agrees to escape with them, but things go wrong and a policeman is killed. An appalled Joe escapes by himself, abandoning the others, who are recaptured. Years later Joe has a boat rental business where he is found by Ross. Now a wanted drug smuggler he wants the use of Joe's boats and to ensure his cooperation, they kidnap his wife and daughter.

Cold Sweat

1970

Troubleshooters poster
6.3

The day he is released from jail, Serge is expected by four killers sent by Count Charles Varèse assigned to make him confess where he has hidden the jewels stolen during his last stickup. On the other hand the police inspector who arrested him offers him protection on condition he gives him the same piece of information. Serge refuses and is about to be tortured by Varèse's henchmen when Michel, a friendly hood, comes to his rescue. His friendship will result in... a heap of corpses! —Guy Bellinger

Troubleshooters

1971

Only the Cool poster
5.9

A secret agent is murdered by his jealous wife who mistakenly interprets his absences from home as acts of infidelity.

Only the Cool

1970

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

Sahara Cross poster
5.0

Jean Bellard and Carl Mank, two Western engineers supported by Hamid are in search of a terrorist group that murdered their colleague in the Tunisian desert.

Sahara Cross

1977

Vertigo for a Killer poster
4.8

Jean-Pierre Desagnat's Vertige pour un tueur involves Marc as a hood hunted down by his boss when he fails to execute a man who happens to be his friend. He is hidden by a woman whose husband has murdered his business associate and wants Marc to take the rap for the crime.

Vertigo for a Killer

1970

No Pockets in a Shroud poster
5.4

In the newspaper he has just founded, journalist Dolannes exposes all the wheeling and dealing and scandals that go on in his town.

No Pockets in a Shroud

1974

OK Patron poster
5.7

Mario, the head of the Mafia in France, has just been mortally wounded. His "companion" decides to find him a successor, before the New York "organization" appoints one. She instructs her two bodyguards to take on anyone who likes money, doesn't have any and, above all, doesn't want to work too hard - in short, "the average Frenchman"... They discover Léon Bonnet, a representative of "magic crosses". They send him gifts: champagne, weapons (a mistake...), a ring for his fiancée, and a meal worthy of the finest gourmets. In return, they take him to Mario's dying bedside, and have him sign over the estate. It's then that Leon, with his angelic good looks, restores order within the Mafia, surprising all his adversaries with his manners, and outwitting the police...

OK Patron

1974

The Lion's Share poster
5.5

A writer is reunited with an old childhood friend, who gives him the opportunity to devise a heist.

The Lion's Share

1971

Beyond Fear poster
6.7

A group of outlaws takes a man's wife and child hostage. He must walk a fine line between working with the police to rescue his family and not angering the kidnappers to the point where they might hurt or kill them.

Beyond Fear

1975

Man in the Trunk poster
6.3

Bloch, an Israeli secret agent, seeks refuge in the French embassy in Libya to escape being killed. Augier, his French opposite number, has to get him to safety in a diplomatic suitcase.

Man in the Trunk

1973

The Cop poster
6.3

A crackdown on drugs leads a burned out cop to take the law into his own hands and seek revenge against villainous drug dealers. Word comes down from above that the United States feels French authorities have been lax on their arrests of the dealers. A violent action feature finds the harried inspector battling his colleagues as much as the criminal element targeted for extermination.

The Cop

1970

Killing in the Sun poster
6.7

The murder of a Parisian mobster starts a war within the world of organized crime.

Killing in the Sun

1973

The Beast poster
7.2

An experienced truck-driver is forced to become assistant to a young Sicilian driver. The Beast, the truck they drive around Europe, becomes their ground for mutual respect and trust.

The Beast

1974

Special Killers poster
5.0

Sandro, a detective, finds his wife strangled. His girl-friend Tiffany, who works as photographer, makes a "Blow up" from a photo, what Sandro finds beside the victim. Sandro and Tiffany are looking for the woman on the photo, Laura. They finds her in a Night Club in Rome...

Special Killers

1973

The Track poster
6.8

Somewhere in rural France, a young English female tourist is sexually assaulted by two men in the countryside. After she manages to escape, a party of local hunters agree to track her in order to cover up the scandal.

The Track

1975

The Comeuppance poster
4.5

Philippe, Théo and Bob share the same cell in the prison of La Santé. Philippe, a young student, known as "Sciences-Po", is planning revenge against those who sent him to prison. He offers his two fellow prisoners, seasoned mobsters, to help him recover an important document from a diamond dealer in Le Havre. This paper would rehabilitate his father, his two comrades being able to keep the diamonds contained in the safe... But the coup does not go as planned.

The Comeuppance

1970

The Big Shots poster
5.8

Thia and Murelli, who live from car stunt shows, make ends meet by carrying out small burglaries. When Murelli's daughter, whom he has tried to keep away from his business falls in love with a young thug, her father feels he must help the couple by including the young man in a heist. Their scheme misfires and forces the group to set up a jailbreak, with unfortunate results.

The Big Shots

1972

Plein les poches pour pas un rond... poster
5.8

Julien, a small thief on the run, to be housed and fed visually in prison, robbed a large jewelry store. Against all expectations, the coup succeeds. Julien finds himself in possession of high-value jewelry that is impossible to sell. Lolotte, his companion who had left him, returns opportunely for better or for worse. Julien, along with Steff, a taxi driver met by chance, Charlotte and Clotilde sets out to find a concealer.

Plein les poches pour pas un rond...

1978

The Seaman poster
4.9

When intruders interfere in the robbery of Le Mataf (Michel Constantin) and his gang and a girl is murdered, they are set up for blackmail by an underworld figure who wants them to do a job for him...

The Seaman

1973

1960s · 15 titles

Le Trou poster
8.2

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

Le Trou

1960

Maigret Sees Red poster
6.4

Gangsters from the United States try to kill a key government witness whose testimony could help land an influential mobster in jail. It's up to detective Maigret to deal with the FBI and a series of underworld figures to save the life of the witness...

Maigret Sees Red

1963

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

A Very Curious Girl poster
6.2

Treated as an outcast and exploited by the villagers of a small town, a young woman liberates herself through sex, which she uses as a tool of economic gain and an instrument of revenge against those who have wronged her.

A Very Curious Girl

1969

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

The Strangers poster
6.9

A violent and ruthless bank robber hides out from the police scouring the countryside for him in the home of a couple living far out in the desert. But the couple not only know who he is, they have secrets of their own and are just as ruthless.

The Strangers

1969

A Man Named Rocca poster
6.2

Roberto goes to Marseilles to give a hand to his friend Xavier, wrongly imprisoned following a frame-up organized by his associate Villanova. Roberto sets out to seduce Villanova's mistress, but when Villanova is killed, Roberto ends up leader of the band...

A Man Named Rocca

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

Law of Men poster
5.5

After a planned robbery on an armoured car the investigating police officer encounters a female journalist who specialises in criminology, and who he suspects may have had a role in the heist.

Law of Men

1962

Law of Survival poster
5.8

In 1960, Stan, the protagonist, after having made a fortune in Asia, returns to Corsica, to visit a friend's tomb. In Ajaccio, he meets Helene, who she rescues from her kidnappers, who take advantage of her "charms" in a house of ill reputation. They hide then somewhere in the mountains, where they are pursued by the Corsican mobsters...

Law of Survival

1967

Dirty Heroes poster
5.6

Set near the end of World War II in the Netherlands, Dirty Heroes concerns a group of ex-convicts recruited into the U.S. Army to recover Dutch jewels originally stolen by the Nazis as well as confiscated Allied plans

Dirty Heroes

1967

Jerk in Istanbul poster
4.7

Vincent And Gregoire have just won a lot a money. The latter wants the whole pile and flies away to Turkey where he meets a compatriot, Appoline, and her boss Samos.

Jerk in Istanbul

1967

The Southern Star poster
5.9

Comedy adventure based on a Jules Verne novel about the ups and downs of jewel thieves in the wilds of Africa circa 1900. George Segal is the appealing hero-heel and Ursula Andress is visually stunning as the lady in the proceedings. Orson Welles has a small role.

The Southern Star

1969

Les Gorilles poster
5.7

A confused pair of airport luggage carriers get involved in the disappearance of some suitcases.

Les Gorilles

1964

Pillaged poster
6.8

Over the course of one night, a gang of twelve criminals carry out a commando-like raid on a small town.

Pillaged

1967

Series credits

Behind the camera