Directing
Jacques Besnard
Born 1929-07-15 · Le Petit-Quevilly, Seine-Maritime, France
Jacques Besnard was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his contributions to French comedy cinema. He began his career in the mid-1950s, working as an assistant director under notable filmmakers such as Maurice Régamey, Yves Robert, and Alberto Lattuada. In 1962, Besnard became the first assistant director to André Hunebelle, collaborating on films like Les Mystères de Paris (1962) and the Fantômas series. He made his directorial debut with Le Grand Restaurant (1966), co-written with Louis de Funès, which became a significant box office success. Besnard continued to direct comedies throughout the 1970s, including Le Fou du labo 4 (1967) and La situation est grave... mais pas désespérée (1976). In the 1980s, he shifted his focus to television, directing various TV movies and series. Besnard's work is characterized by its humor and collaboration with prominent French actors.
Acting credits
7.8Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
Rififi
1955
Léo Fardier is a police inspector who goes to prison undercover as a convict. He shares a cell with Mariani, a Corsican mafioso, whose trust he earns. The day Léo leaves prison, the criminal entrusts him with a letter to deliver to his estranged wife. He finds her, and she falls under his spell. The problem is that he, too, has fallen in love with her.
Série noire
1955
Behind the camera
6.8A great French restaurant's owner, Monsieur Septime, is thrust into intrigue and crime, when one of his famous guests disappears.
The Restaurant
1966
6.8A great French restaurant's owner, Monsieur Septime, is thrust into intrigue and crime, when one of his famous guests disappears.
The Restaurant
1966
5.1JAM (Christian Clavier), a French "master of the universe" is on the brink of a major takeover when he starts suffering from anxiety attacks. His doctor (Lhermite) thinks it is to do with childhood experiences and suggests he searches back in his mind to something that could be the trigger and will prove to be the antidote.
The Antidote
2005
6.0This talkative and unevenly paced feature finds Fou (Jean Lefebvre) the inventor of a gas that makes the users fall in love. He is chased by his boss, the police, and spies, who seek to secure the secret recipe for their own selfish purposes. A shadowy American underworld figure tries to intimidate the inventor. A half-hearted attempt at comedy tries to go along with the double dealing and trickery of the thin plot of the film.
The Madman of Lab Four
1967
6.0This talkative and unevenly paced feature finds Fou (Jean Lefebvre) the inventor of a gas that makes the users fall in love. He is chased by his boss, the police, and spies, who seek to secure the secret recipe for their own selfish purposes. A shadowy American underworld figure tries to intimidate the inventor. A half-hearted attempt at comedy tries to go along with the double dealing and trickery of the thin plot of the film.
The Madman of Lab Four
1967
6.0This talkative and unevenly paced feature finds Fou (Jean Lefebvre) the inventor of a gas that makes the users fall in love. He is chased by his boss, the police, and spies, who seek to secure the secret recipe for their own selfish purposes. A shadowy American underworld figure tries to intimidate the inventor. A half-hearted attempt at comedy tries to go along with the double dealing and trickery of the thin plot of the film.
The Madman of Lab Four
1967
6.4Max and Riton, 2 thieves make plan to steal money in a train station office. They will operate through the wall in the public toilets.
The Restroom Robbery
1975
NRFranck and Florence share not only their lives, but also their practice. She is a psychologist, beautiful and cheerful. He is a psychoanalyst, grumpy and jealous. His wife's frequent absences fuel this jealousy. Florence is, however, a model wife, but she prefers that her husband believe her to be unfaithful rather than learn the truth
Un petit grain de folie
1997
6.4Morgan, a lapsed burglar, is drugged and shanghaied on board a yacht by beautiful Colleen. When he comes to, the athletic young man learns that Colleen and her friends want him to break open the vaults of a Carribean island where a ruthless dictator has deposited a treasure stolen from his people. Despite the way he has been treated, Morgan accepts the mission. The group, supported by local resistant fighters, storm the fortress, but Colleen's father gets killed during the attack. The treasure is finally retrieved and is returned to the people. Morgan and Colleen will say yes to each other for better or for worse.
The Looters
1967
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Appelez-moi Fouks
1986
4.0Paul and Thérèse have sold their café on the outskirts of an airport to buy one in Marseille. The business is going well until they discover that their bistro is being used as a hub for drug trafficking. To stop the traffic, they reignite a gang war.
Big Deal
1973
3.3To get a job and marry the nice Yvette, a quilt teacher, Julien goes to Paris. On the station platform, he swears loyalty to her, but as soon as he arrives in the capital, the seductive provincial wreaks havoc. His insatiable landlady, all the saleswomen of the shop where he is hired as an accountant, at the slightest pretext, solicit him, undress and abuse him. Finally arrives the boss, Joëlle... who is the exact double of Yvette, without her pigtails! Julien then loses his head and falls in love with the double.
French Undressing
1976
3.3To get a job and marry the nice Yvette, a quilt teacher, Julien goes to Paris. On the station platform, he swears loyalty to her, but as soon as he arrives in the capital, the seductive provincial wreaks havoc. His insatiable landlady, all the saleswomen of the shop where he is hired as an accountant, at the slightest pretext, solicit him, undress and abuse him. Finally arrives the boss, Joëlle... who is the exact double of Yvette, without her pigtails! Julien then loses his head and falls in love with the double.
French Undressing
1976
5.7Sophie, viscountess of Valrude, believes herself being a widow since her husband disappeared in the Amazon.
La situation est grave... mais pas désespérée
1976
5.7Sophie, viscountess of Valrude, believes herself being a widow since her husband disappeared in the Amazon.
La situation est grave... mais pas désespérée
1976
6.0A comedy directed by Jacques Besnard.
Général... nous voilà...!
1978
6.0A comedy directed by Jacques Besnard.
Général... nous voilà...!
1978
5.7In 1944, a retired German detachment found itself stranded in a French town. The inhabitants try to live in good harmony with the occupants. But one day kids, playing with a grenade, accidentally cause the death of an SS lieutenant.
Le Jour de gloire
1976
4.5No synopsis available yet.
Feu Adrien Muset
1992
5.0A young astrology enthusiast inherits an industrial business. Before any decision, he carefully studies the sign of his interlocutors.
Te marre pas... c'est pour rire !
1982
