Animal (1977 film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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L'Animal (1977) is an action-comedy film directed by Claude Zidi and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Raquel Welch
Plot
Mike Gauché (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a professional film stuntman who works with his fiancée Jane Gardner (Raquel Welch). However minutes before their long planned marriage they are called to perform a car stunt for a movie but it goes wrong, as a brake problem causes their car to fall and they end up in a hospital with bruises and broken legs. Exasperated by the behavior of her fiancé, Jane decides to leave. After his recovery Mike is no longer able to find work in the movie business and is forced to simulate mental retardation and to invent a family to receive Social Security benefits. One day his stuntman friend Santos asks him to replace him from time to time at his job which involves dressing up as a gorilla for advertising pasta at a supermarket.
Mike's luck begins to improve as he gets offered a high salary to do the stunts of an effeminate movie star Bruno Ferrari (Jean-Paul Belmondo) whom he proves to be a dead ringer to. Ferrari, while filming an action movie, suffers from vertigo and finds himself unable to perform dangerous sequences. Mike does not hesitate to get rid of his new stunt partner in order to replace her with Jane, who is enamored with the Count of Saint-Prix (Raymond Gérôme). Having heard the news Mike goes to the Count while impersonating a server in order to propose the offer to Jane. When he hears that the Count has asked to marry Jane he manically sabotages the dinner and makes Jane promise to do the film.
Desperate to regain Jane, Mike impersonates Ferrari who turns out to be gay, to seduce her. However the young woman is not fooled. Mike must perform a dangerous stunt on the wing of an airplane to an audience of journalists who think they are seeing Ferrari, where his life is saved from the accident by Jane, who is to marry the Count very soon. Meanwhile, the press discovers that Ferrari is not doing his own stunts.
While the wedding ceremony takes place at the castle of the Count, Mike arrives disguised as a gorilla, scaring guests with animals from the property, and takes Jane, who refuses to marry Count of Saint-Prix, preferring to live her life with Mike.
Cast
- Jean-Paul Belmondo as Mike / Bruno
- Raquel Welch as Jane
- Charles Gérard as Hyacinthe
- Julien Guiomar as Fechner
- Aldo Maccione as Sergio Campanese
- Dany Saval as Doris
- Raymond Gérôme as Count of Saint-Prix
- Henri Génès : as Camille, café owner
- Jane Birkin as The Female Star
- Johnny Hallyday as The Male Star
- Claude Chabrol as The Director
- Mario David as Santos
- Jacques Alric
- Henri Attal
- Josiane Balasko
- Maurice Auzel
- Maurice Bénichou
- Edouard Bergara
- Paul Bisciglia
- Richard Bohringer
- Anne-Marie Coffinet
- Raphaële Devins
- Isabelle Duby
- Martine Ferrière
- Jean-Jacques
- Jean-Jacques Moreau
- Didier Flamand
- Gilles Kohler
- Yves Mourousi
- Xavier Saint-Macary
- Agathe Vannier