Cartouche [Swords of Blood] *** (1962, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale) – Classic Movie Review 11,558

Director Philippe de Broca’s 1962 French swashbuckler film Cartouche [Swords of Blood] stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Claudia Cardinale.

France’s legendary 18th-century thief-hero Cartouche is a lovely role for grinning young and dashing Belmondo, whose infectious, boyish enthusiasm brings to life a sometimes dark comic adventure. The gorgeous young Cardinale is equally appealing as the gypsy girl Vénus, the joint boss of Belmondo’s Paris crime ring.

The well-crafted movie keeps moving relentlessly and has an appealingly larky tone; Georges Delerue’s music and Christian Matras’s photography are considerable assets.

It was a massive hit and the breakthrough film for Director Philippe de Broca and he and Jean-Paul Belmondo followed it with That Man from Rio [L’Homme de Rio] (1964), an even bigger success.

Also in the cast are Odile Versois, Marcel Dalio, Philippe Lemaire, Jean Rochefort, Jess Hahn, Noël Roquevert, Jacques Charon, Lucien Raimbourg, Jacques Balutin, Pierre Repp, and Jacques Hilling.

Other versions: Cartouche (1934) with Lucien Blondeau and Mila Parély, and Cartouche [Le Avventure di Cartouche] (1954) with Richard Basehart and Patricia Roc.

Jean-Paul Belmondo in 1962.

Adieu Jean-Paul Belmondo (9 April 1933 – 6 September 2021), RIP. His best known films include Breathless (1960), That Man from Rio (1964), and Pierrot le Fou (1965).

Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,558

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