Philippe Clay

Acting

Philippe Clay

Born 1927-03-07 · Paris, France

Philippe Clay, born Philippe Mathevet, (March 7, 1927 – December 13, 2007) was a French mime artist, singer and actor. He was known for his tall and slim silhouette (he was 1,90 m tall) and for his interpretations of songs by Charles Aznavour, Claude Nougaro, Jean-Roger Caussimon, Boris Vian, Serge Gainsbourg, Jean Yanne, Léo Ferré, Jacques Datin, Jean-Claude Massoulier or Bernard Dimey. He interpreted “La Complainte des Apaches” for the TV series Les Brigades du Tigre, written by Henri Djian and composed by Claude Bolling. As an actor, he appeared in many movies (Bell, Book and Candle) and television films. One of his famous roles is in the Jean Renoir film, French Cancan, where he played Casimir le Serpentin (a character inspired by Valentin le désossé). Description above from the Wikipedia article Philippe Clay, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

The Hunchback of Notre Dame poster
6.7

In 1482 Paris, Frollo, Chief Justice of benevolent King Louis XI, becomes infatuated by the beauty of Esmeralda, a young Romani girl. The hunchback Quasimodo, Frollo's protégé and bell-ringer of Notre Dame, lives in peace among the bells in the heights of the immense cathedral until he's involved by the twisted magistrate in his malicious plans to free himself from Esmeralda's alleged spell, which he believes to be the Devil's work.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1956

Bell, Book and Candle poster
6.6

Gillian Holroyd, a modern-day witch, becomes smitten with her handsome upstairs neighbor, Shep Henderson. Using her magical powers, she casts a love spell on him, only to face unexpected complications when genuine feelings emerge, threatening her supernatural abilities.

Bell, Book and Candle

1958

Nathalie poster
6.6

Haute Couture model in Paris becomes involved in the activities of two rival jewel thief gangs.

Nathalie

1957

French Cancan poster
7.2

Nineteenth-century Paris comes vibrantly alive in Jean Renoir’s exhilarating tale of the opening of the world-renowned Moulin Rouge. Jean Gabin plays the wily impresario Danglard, who makes the cancan all the rage while juggling the love of two beautiful women—an Egyptian belly-dancer and a naive working girl turned cancan star.

French Cancan

1955

The Freelancers poster
4.3

In this off-beat French comedy-drama, a quirky band of classical musicians prepare to play at a nobleman's New Year's Eve gala.

The Freelancers

1999

1974, une partie de campagne poster
6.6

Following the 1974 French presidential campaign with Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.

1974, une partie de campagne

2002

Lautrec poster
5.3

The life of Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, famous french painter, who lived, enjoyed, loved in the late 1800s Paris' Montmartre cultural life. He suffered from suffered from congenital health conditions traditionally attributed to inbreeding. His lifestyle and work are a testimony of the late-19th-century parisian bohemian lifestyle, as he was commissioned to produce a series of posters for the Moulin Rouge cabaret opening. As an alcoholic, he was addicted to absinthe. The movie related his love affair with the french painter Suzanne Valadon.

Lautrec

1998

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

Shanks poster
5.2

Malcolm Shanks is a sad and lonely man, deaf, mute and living with his cruel sister and her husband, who delight in making him miserable. His only pleasure, it seems, is in making and controlling puppets. Thanks to his skill, he is offered a job as a lab assistant to Dr. Walker, who is working on ways to re-animate dead bodies by inserting electrodes at key nerve points and manipulating the bodies as if they were on strings. When the professor suddenly dies one night, Shanks gets the idea to apply their experimental results to a human body, and then to start exacting some revenge.

Shanks

1974

Dombey and Son poster
NR

The dream of Charles Dombais, the wealthy owner of the shipping company, is to have a son to continue his business. Tragically, his wife dies shortly after giving birth to their son.

Dombey and Son

2007

La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président poster
7.2

In May 1974, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing became President of the Republic and wanted to bring about a new era of modernity. One of his first decisions was to break up the ORTF with the creation of three new television channels: TF1, Antenne 2 and FR3. Three new public channels but autonomous and competing. It is a race for the audience which is engaged then, and from now on the channels will make the war! This competition will give birth to a real golden age for television programs, with variety shows in the forefront. The stars of the song are going to invade the living rooms of the French for their biggest pleasure. This unedited documentary tells the story of the metamorphosis of this television of the early 1970s, between freedom of tone, scandals, political intrigues and programs that have become mythical.

La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président

2022

Not Dumb, the Bird poster
5.8

An old lady is far from suspecting everything that is going on behind her back, in particular what her servants are up to.

Not Dumb, the Bird

1972

Rome Express poster
5.0

A valuable painting has been stolen from an art gallery in Paris.. On a train travelling between Paris and Rome, Zutra, a mysterious and sinister character, tries to find the stolen painting.

Rome Express

1950

Marceeel!!! poster
9.0

After the death of his controlling wife, a retiree decides to take the trip of his dreams to Tahiti, in French Polynesia. All he needs is the money. Poker and the strange complicity of a talking cat will be his best assets to raise funds.

Marceeel!!!

1998

Ivory Coast Adventure poster
6.2

An Embassy attache and a butterfly hunter become involved in a treasure hunt between two rival gangs.

Ivory Coast Adventure

1965

Tuvalu poster
6.2

Set in a dilapidated indoor swimming pool (the Central Baths in Sofia), the film details the efforts of Anton, a clueless dreamer who yearns to sail the world, and Martha, the button obsessed cashier, to maintain the illusion for Anton's blind father that business is thriving. Working to sabotage their efforts is Gregor - Anton's brother - an amoral developer who is determined to raze the entire town and construct a sprawling condominium complex. Gregor engineers an accident that seems certain to doom the business and in the process steals away Eva, the beautiful woman of Anton's dreams. Will Gregor's dastardly plan succeed?

Tuvalu

1999

Toto in Paris poster
6.3

Duclos's son, a worldly gangster, is compromised in a case of which he is innocent. The proof of this innocence is in the hands of a "competitor", the Marquis de Chemantel de Beauvoiron, a misguided aristocrat. He asked for $ 10 million to cede the document. Duclos will then imagine Chemantel contracting $ 10 million in life insurance for his son. As he discovered in Rome a tramp, a look-alike of the marquis, he will bring this man to Paris and arrange for him to die accidentally.

Toto in Paris

1958

Krim poster
7.0

A prize-fighter spends 16 years in prison for killing his wife during a blind rage. Upon his release, he wanders the grim streets of an empty French housing project in search of his now teen-age daughter. His quest forms the basis of this gripping French drama. Krim is the fighter and Yasmine his estranged daughter. Krim finds his old apartment block, but it is abandoned and slated for destruction. He is terribly disappointed, for all Krim wants right now is to be happy and to have his daughter back. He sends messages back to his friend and mentor in prison telling him how wonderful it is to be out of jail. His friend, Eugene, a lifer, isn't fooled for a second and is very angry at Krim for lying to him. Meanwhile, Krim stumbles across Nora, a teen-age drug addict, who could be his long-lost daughter. Eventually, he locks her in an abandoned flat and helps her get off the junk cold-turkey. It is a terrible scene, but he succeeds and the two begin a new kind of relationship.

Krim

1995

Drôles de phénomènes poster
6.5

Since the day their mother Aline remarried, Patrice and Eric, a joyful pair of twins, have been very happy. Indeed, François Chantour, their stepfather, is very kind and behaves like a big brother to them. Even if they are not very rich, the four of them live a cheerful life in their charming house. The trouble is that, in Lyon, the family on the boys'father's side are worried, especially the twins' grandmother, who fears Patrice and Eric are given a bad education. She therefore brings them to her big house in the hope of their improving their manners. A very unfortunate decision indeed.

Drôles de phénomènes

1959

The Insolent poster
3.8

Having escaped from prison Ristack contacts his partner, to organize an attack on a van full of gold. The heist goes well but each man is trying to keep all the loot for himself...

The Insolent

1973

Le gourou occidental poster
7.0

André Doirmot, colloquially called "the father André," is the quack of Montgarçin village and its surroundings. Well known and appreciated by all, he continued the family tradition. André will be required to treat and cure the leader of a Japanese trust and his nephew. The Japanese then decided to market a new product: the elixir of Father Andrew. The figure of the brave French peasant invaded the screens, posters are put up, the commercials are made in Japanese, English, American, Arabic and even Russian! But father André lost his beautiful serenity.

Le gourou occidental

1993

Salut la puce poster
6.0

Robert Dumortier and his son "La Puce" live on a barge moored to an island of the Seine and Robert dreams of cruising remote and exotic seas.

Salut la puce

1983

Sale temps pour les mouches poster
6.1

Renowned atomic scientists are kidnapped on French soil. Inspector San-Antonio and his loyal deputy Bérurier infiltrate a gang suspected of involvement in the case, in order to trace the trail.

Sale temps pour les mouches

1966

The Three Musketeers poster
8.0

D'Artagnan and his musketeer comrades must thwart the plans of Cardinal Richelieu to usurp King Louis XIII's power.

The Three Musketeers

1974