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

Behind the camera

The Restaurant poster
6.8

A great French restaurant's owner, Monsieur Septime, is thrust into intrigue and crime, when one of his famous guests disappears.

The Restaurant

1966

The Restaurant poster
6.8

A great French restaurant's owner, Monsieur Septime, is thrust into intrigue and crime, when one of his famous guests disappears.

The Restaurant

1966

The Antidote poster
5.1

JAM (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

The Madman of Lab Four poster
6.0

This 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

The Madman of Lab Four poster
6.0

This 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

The Madman of Lab Four poster
6.0

This 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

The Restroom Robbery poster
6.4

Max 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

Un petit grain de folie poster
NR

Franck 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

The Looters poster
6.4

Morgan, 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

Appelez-moi Fouks poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Appelez-moi Fouks

1986

Big Deal poster
4.0

Paul 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

French Undressing poster
3.3

To 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

French Undressing poster
3.3

To 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

La situation est grave... mais pas désespérée poster
5.7

Sophie, viscountess of Valrude, believes herself being a widow since her husband disappeared in the Amazon.

La situation est grave... mais pas désespérée

1976

La situation est grave... mais pas désespérée poster
5.7

Sophie, viscountess of Valrude, believes herself being a widow since her husband disappeared in the Amazon.

La situation est grave... mais pas désespérée

1976

Général... nous voilà...! poster
6.0

A comedy directed by Jacques Besnard.

Général... nous voilà...!

1978

Général... nous voilà...! poster
6.0

A comedy directed by Jacques Besnard.

Général... nous voilà...!

1978

Le Jour de gloire poster
5.7

In 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

Feu Adrien Muset poster
4.5

No synopsis available yet.

Feu Adrien Muset

1992

Te marre pas... c'est pour rire ! poster
5.0

A 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