Le Magnifique (1973) - film review

When a secret agent is eaten by a shark in a telephone box, ace spy Bob Saint-Clair is sent on a mission to Mexico, to confront his arch-enemy Karpof, assisted by his beautiful partner Tatiana…  Thus begins the latest pulp fiction novel by François Merlin, a lonely middle-aged writer who dreams of having a love affair with his neighbour Christine and of getting his revenge on his odious publisher Charron – fantasies which he plays out in his novels.  One day, Christine borrows some of Merlin’s books and becomes obsessed with his fiction, finding plenty of material for her sociology thesis.  Believing that she prefers his fictional hero to him, Merlin decides to destroy his fictional alter-ego Bob Saint-Clair...

Very redolent of the era in which it was made, Le Magnifique is an ebullient mix of the truly bizarre and original which gives it a rare timeless quality.  It is a hugely entertaining film to watch, and re-watch, filled with some outrageous but very effective comedy.

Although the film starts out resembling a spoof of the action/spy thriller – in fact, a spoof of a spoof, since it is so far over the top – it soon develops into something much more laudable.  Le Magnifique turns out, rather surprisingly, to be the portrait of a lonely and bitter writer, who vents his frustration by placing himself in a fictional world where he is the world’s most desirable secret agent.   Charismatic and popular actor Jean-Paul Belmondo stars as both writer and secret agent, being one of a small number of actors who is capable of playing both types to their absolute limits whilst remaining convincing in both roles.   The main pleasure in watching Le Magnifique is Jean-Paul Belmondo’s unashamedly and magnificently unrestrained performance.

Whilst its plot may sound rather simplistic, the film does manage to hold together rather well, in spite of – or perhaps because of – its camp excesses. De Broca’s instinctive flair for film making, particularly his experience with what works and what does not in a film like this, is also another important reason why the film stands up so well.   In the hands of a lesser director, Le Magnifique would most probably have ended up like the unwatchable mess that the 1967 film Casino Royale became.

Even so, the film shows de Broca taking some big gambles, particularly with the portrayal of excessive physical violence.  The film managed to use up more theatrical blood and dummy ammunitions than a dozen or so typical action war films, and one scene required an entire set to be flooded with several hundred litres of pigs’ blood.  It sounds dangerously close to the excesses of the slasher genre of the early 1980s, and you do wonder what the censors made of the film at the time.  De Broca probably got away with it because all this awful gory nastiness is presented in such a stylised, comic book like way that it appears as harmless as Tintin or Astérix.

These excesses may have been a contributing factor in Francis Veber’s decision to dissociate himself from the film.  Once he had seen the final print of the film, he insisted that his name be removed from the credits.  As a result, Le Magnifique is one of the very few French films not to show the name of its writer.  Not that this matters – anyone who is familiar with Veber’s brand of comedy will instantly recognise him as the film’s writer.

Despite Veber’s reservations, Le Magnifique proved to be a commercial success, attracting 2.8 million spectators in France alone, making it one of the most popular films of 1973.  The film also fared well abroad, thanks in part to the mix of international actors, which included the rising Hollywood actress Jacqueline Bisset (who had become an international star after her appearance in Truffaut’s La Nuit américaine) and the popular Italian comic actor Vittorio Caprioli.

© James Travers 2002

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