Le Clan des Siciliens
Encyclopedia
The Sicilian Clan is a 1969
French
crime film
directed by Henri Verneuil
and starring Jean Gabin
, Lino Ventura
and Alain Delon
. The film was largely marketed by the casting together of three of the leading French movie actors of the day.
The film score
was written by Italian composer Ennio Morricone
. The main theme is a variation
on Johann Sebastian Bach
's, Prelude and Fugue in A minor
.
, bloodthirsty jewel thief Roger Sartet (Alain Delon
) escapes from custody with the help of the Manalese, a small-time but well-organised Sicilian
Mafia
clan led by patriarch
Vittorio (Jean Gabin
) and which includes his sons Aldo (Yves Lefebvre) and Sergio (Marc Porel
) and son-in-law Luigi (Philippe Baronnet). While in prison, Sartet got to know an electrician (Christian de Tillière) who was involved in the setting up of an extensive security system at a diamond exhibition in Rome
— the electrician returned home early, unannounced, caught his wife in bed with a lover and shot them! Unaccustomed to prison life, he made friends with Sartet and bit-by-bit supplied him with details of the exhibition.
Vittorio and a fellow Mafiose, Tony Nicosia (Amedeo Nazzari
) of New York
, go to the exhibition only to find that some changes have been made that make a simple robbery more difficult. Furthermore the exhibition hall is just down the road from the local police station! Nicosia instead comes up with a plan to steal the diamonds while they are en route to another exhibition in New York and sends over Jack (Sydney Chaplin), an alcoholic, in order to pass on the details.
Meanwhile Commissaire
Le Goff (Lino Ventura
) pursues Sartet with unbridled determination — the gangster having killed two of his men in cold blood during an earlier arrest. Guessing that Sartet needs false papers
in order to leave the country, Le Goff's enquiries lead him to the Malanese and their arcade game
business which serves as a cover for their more illegal activities. While he questions Vittorio, Sartet slips out of the building in a car, right under Le Goff's nose.
Jeanne (Irina Demick
), wife of Vittorio's son Aldo and an able crook in her own right, becomes increasingly fascinated by Sartet. She has always felt out of place as the only French person in the Sicilian clan. While hiding out in a villa near the Italian
border she attracts Sartet's attention by sunbathing nude but as they kiss they are caught in the act by Luigi's six-year-old son Roberto (César Chauveau). Jeanne gets the boy to promise not to mention it to anyone.
In Rome, the gang subtly kidnap Edward Evans, the insurance man sent to oversee the transfer of the diamonds to New York. Sartet takes his place and joins the other officials accompanying the diamonds on a regular scheduled flight to New York via Paris. Among the passengers joining the plane in Paris are Jack, Jeanne, Vittorio and his sons. Things almost go wrong when Evans' wife (Sally Nesbitt) turns up and even boards the plane looking for her husband, but Vittorio leads her to believe that her husband will be on another flight.
Having tried to contact her husband's hotel in Rome and being told that he has left, Mrs Evans goes to the police. At police HQ, she identifies Sartet as one of the men she saw on the plane while it was grounded in Paris. Told that his enemy has left the country, and guessing what he is up to, Le Goff requests a cigarette, having given up smoking some time ago.
Meanwhile, the plane is making its descent towards New York when the gang suddenly hijack
s the aircraft. The crew are held at gunpoint and Jack, a former pilot, takes over the co-pilot's seat.
Warned of Sartet's imminent arrival in America
, the local police race to the airport, but the plane in fact overshoots New York City and lands on a freeway which has been closed off by the local mob. Other Mafia men are waiting in cars. They unload the diamonds from the plane and split up, Jack for Canada
and the Manalese for Paris. Intending to move to Veracruz
, Sartet hides out in New York while awaiting his share of the proceeds.
Back home, late one evening, the Manalese are watching a film on TV which includes a scene of a couple kissing on a beach. Roberto says that it "Looks like Auntie Jeanne with Mister Sartet". Jeanne denies this but the others will not accept it. They lure Sartet back to Paris by withholding his share of the loot. Jeanne calls Sartet's sister Monique (Danielle Volle) to warn him that he is walking into a trap. Monique goes to the airport but when her brother fails to turn up she is confronted by the Manalese boys who are subsequently arrested by Le Goff and his men who had Monique under surveillance.
Sartet actually came by an earlier plane. He contacts Vittorio, demanding his share. They meet at a place outside of town where Vittorio shoots both Jeanne and Sartet dead. He then returns home, only to be arrested by Le Goff.
and Delon would dedicate Ne réveillez pas un flic qui dort to Gabin.
Ventura also worked with Delon and Gabin separately on a number of films.
At the time Delon was involved in a real-life scandal, the Markovic affair
, in which his former bodyguard
Stevan Markovic
had been found murdered.
1969 in film
The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
French
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
directed by Henri Verneuil
Henri Verneuil
Henri Verneuil was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who enjoyed a successful career in France.-Biography:...
and starring Jean Gabin
Jean Gabin
-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...
, Lino Ventura
Lino Ventura
Lino Ventura , was an Italian actor who starred in French movies.-Biography:Born as Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura in Parma, Italy to Giovanni Ventura and Luisa Borrini, "Lino" dropped out of school at the age of eight and later took on a variety of jobs...
and Alain Delon
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
. The film was largely marketed by the casting together of three of the leading French movie actors of the day.
The film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
was written by Italian composer Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
. The main theme is a variation
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
on Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's, Prelude and Fugue in A minor
Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543
"The Great" Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime around his years as court organist to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar . It is the final incarnation of Bach's harpsichord Fugue in A minor, BWV 944, written in 1708...
.
Plot summary
In ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, bloodthirsty jewel thief Roger Sartet (Alain Delon
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
) escapes from custody with the help of the Manalese, a small-time but well-organised Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
clan led by patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
Vittorio (Jean Gabin
Jean Gabin
-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...
) and which includes his sons Aldo (Yves Lefebvre) and Sergio (Marc Porel
Marc Porel
Marc Porel was a Swiss-born French film actor. He appeared in 36 films between 1967 and 1983.He was born in Lausanne, Switzerland and died in Casablanca, Morocco.-Selected filmography:...
) and son-in-law Luigi (Philippe Baronnet). While in prison, Sartet got to know an electrician (Christian de Tillière) who was involved in the setting up of an extensive security system at a diamond exhibition in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
— the electrician returned home early, unannounced, caught his wife in bed with a lover and shot them! Unaccustomed to prison life, he made friends with Sartet and bit-by-bit supplied him with details of the exhibition.
Vittorio and a fellow Mafiose, Tony Nicosia (Amedeo Nazzari
Amedeo Nazzari
Amedeo Nazzari was an Italian actor.Star of Italian cinema during the 40's and 50's. He made several melodramas with Raffaello Matarazzo, such as Catene in 1949...
) of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, go to the exhibition only to find that some changes have been made that make a simple robbery more difficult. Furthermore the exhibition hall is just down the road from the local police station! Nicosia instead comes up with a plan to steal the diamonds while they are en route to another exhibition in New York and sends over Jack (Sydney Chaplin), an alcoholic, in order to pass on the details.
Meanwhile Commissaire
Commissaire de police
Commissaire de police is a rank in the French National Police. Every commune with a population of more than 30,000-50,000 has a commissaire in charge of its police force and larger communes have more than one...
Le Goff (Lino Ventura
Lino Ventura
Lino Ventura , was an Italian actor who starred in French movies.-Biography:Born as Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura in Parma, Italy to Giovanni Ventura and Luisa Borrini, "Lino" dropped out of school at the age of eight and later took on a variety of jobs...
) pursues Sartet with unbridled determination — the gangster having killed two of his men in cold blood during an earlier arrest. Guessing that Sartet needs false papers
Identity document forgery
Identity document forgery is the process by which identity documents issued by governing bodies are copied and/or modified by persons not authorized to create such documents or engage in such modifications, for the purpose of deceiving those who would view the documents about the identity or status...
in order to leave the country, Le Goff's enquiries lead him to the Malanese and their arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
business which serves as a cover for their more illegal activities. While he questions Vittorio, Sartet slips out of the building in a car, right under Le Goff's nose.
Jeanne (Irina Demick
Irina Demick
Irina Demick , sometimes credited as Irina Demich was a French actress with a brief career in American films....
), wife of Vittorio's son Aldo and an able crook in her own right, becomes increasingly fascinated by Sartet. She has always felt out of place as the only French person in the Sicilian clan. While hiding out in a villa near the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
border she attracts Sartet's attention by sunbathing nude but as they kiss they are caught in the act by Luigi's six-year-old son Roberto (César Chauveau). Jeanne gets the boy to promise not to mention it to anyone.
In Rome, the gang subtly kidnap Edward Evans, the insurance man sent to oversee the transfer of the diamonds to New York. Sartet takes his place and joins the other officials accompanying the diamonds on a regular scheduled flight to New York via Paris. Among the passengers joining the plane in Paris are Jack, Jeanne, Vittorio and his sons. Things almost go wrong when Evans' wife (Sally Nesbitt) turns up and even boards the plane looking for her husband, but Vittorio leads her to believe that her husband will be on another flight.
Having tried to contact her husband's hotel in Rome and being told that he has left, Mrs Evans goes to the police. At police HQ, she identifies Sartet as one of the men she saw on the plane while it was grounded in Paris. Told that his enemy has left the country, and guessing what he is up to, Le Goff requests a cigarette, having given up smoking some time ago.
Meanwhile, the plane is making its descent towards New York when the gang suddenly hijack
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
s the aircraft. The crew are held at gunpoint and Jack, a former pilot, takes over the co-pilot's seat.
Warned of Sartet's imminent arrival in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the local police race to the airport, but the plane in fact overshoots New York City and lands on a freeway which has been closed off by the local mob. Other Mafia men are waiting in cars. They unload the diamonds from the plane and split up, Jack for Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the Manalese for Paris. Intending to move to Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
, Sartet hides out in New York while awaiting his share of the proceeds.
Back home, late one evening, the Manalese are watching a film on TV which includes a scene of a couple kissing on a beach. Roberto says that it "Looks like Auntie Jeanne with Mister Sartet". Jeanne denies this but the others will not accept it. They lure Sartet back to Paris by withholding his share of the loot. Jeanne calls Sartet's sister Monique (Danielle Volle) to warn him that he is walking into a trap. Monique goes to the airport but when her brother fails to turn up she is confronted by the Manalese boys who are subsequently arrested by Le Goff and his men who had Monique under surveillance.
Sartet actually came by an earlier plane. He contacts Vittorio, demanding his share. They meet at a place outside of town where Vittorio shoots both Jeanne and Sartet dead. He then returns home, only to be arrested by Le Goff.
Cast
- Jean GabinJean Gabin-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...
as Vittorio Manalese - Alain DelonAlain DelonAlain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
as Roger Sartet - Lino VenturaLino VenturaLino Ventura , was an Italian actor who starred in French movies.-Biography:Born as Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura in Parma, Italy to Giovanni Ventura and Luisa Borrini, "Lino" dropped out of school at the age of eight and later took on a variety of jobs...
as CommissaireCommissaire de policeCommissaire de police is a rank in the French National Police. Every commune with a population of more than 30,000-50,000 has a commissaire in charge of its police force and larger communes have more than one...
Le Goff - Irina DemickIrina DemickIrina Demick , sometimes credited as Irina Demich was a French actress with a brief career in American films....
as Jeanne Manalese - Elisa CeganiElisa CeganiElisa Cegani was an Italian actress. She appeared in 60 films between 1935 and 1983.-Selected filmography:* Me, Me, Me.....
as Maria Manalese - Yves Lefebvre as Aldo Manalese
- Marc PorelMarc PorelMarc Porel was a Swiss-born French film actor. He appeared in 36 films between 1967 and 1983.He was born in Lausanne, Switzerland and died in Casablanca, Morocco.-Selected filmography:...
as Sergio Manalese - Philippe Baronnet as Luigi
- Karen Blanguernon as Theresa
- César Chauveau as Roberto
- Amedeo NazzariAmedeo NazzariAmedeo Nazzari was an Italian actor.Star of Italian cinema during the 40's and 50's. He made several melodramas with Raffaello Matarazzo, such as Catene in 1949...
as Tony Nicosia - Sydney Chaplin as Jack
- Danielle Volle as Monique Sartet
- André PousseAndré PousseAndré Pousse was a noted French actor and, in his youth, also a notable cyclist.-Biography:While primarily known as a leading French actor, André Pousse began his professional career as a cyclist...
as Malik - Edward Meeks as the airline captain
- Sally Nesbitt as Mrs. Evans
- Christian de Tillière as Jean-Marie Ballard, the electrician
- Yves Brainville as the examining magistrate
- Bernard Musson as the gendarmeGendarmerieA gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
during Sartet's transfer
Connections to other films
The film was largely marketed by the casting together of Gabin, Delon and Ventura, all major film stars of the time. Henri Verneuil had previously directed Gabin and Delon in another thriller Mélodie en sous-sol. They would also star together in Deux hommes dans la villeDeux hommes dans la ville
Deux hommes dans la ville is a 1973 Franco-Italian film diected by José Giovanni.- Plot Summary :After an early release from prison, an ex-safe cracker finds honest work and a new love...
and Delon would dedicate Ne réveillez pas un flic qui dort to Gabin.
Ventura also worked with Delon and Gabin separately on a number of films.
At the time Delon was involved in a real-life scandal, the Markovic affair
The Markovic affair
The Markovic affair was a political scandal in France in the late 1960s, involving French President George Pompidou and movie star Alain Delon.-Death of Stevan Markovic:...
, in which his former bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
Stevan Markovic
Stevan Markovic
Stevan Markovic, also Stevan Marković in Serbian: Стеван Марковић was a bodyguard of moviestar Alain Delon. He was found murdered in 1968....
had been found murdered.
External links
- Review at filmsdefrance.com