Jacques Besnard

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.

Works

The Antidote

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.

Release Date:2005-03-30

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:108

Feu Adrien Muset

Release Date:1992-12-30

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1

La Belle Anglaise

Release Date:1988-10-07

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Episode Count:4

Appelez-moi Fouks

Release Date:1986-08-13

Department:Directing

Job:Director

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

A young astrology enthusiast inherits an industrial business. Before any decision, he carefully studies the sign of his interlocutors.

Release Date:1982-03-10

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:8

Général... nous voilà !

A comedy directed by Jacques Besnard.

Release Date:1978-10-18

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1

Le Jour de gloire

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.

Release Date:1976-12-08

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:32

La situation est grave... mais pas désespérée

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

Release Date:1976-03-31

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:13

French Undressing

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.

Release Date:1976-03-10

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:1

The Restroom Robbery

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.

Release Date:1975-01-22

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:65

Big Deal

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.

Release Date:1973-03-29

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:3

The Madman of Lab Four

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.

Release Date:1967-11-29

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:17

The Looters

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.

Release Date:1967-08-08

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:2

The Restaurant

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

Release Date:1966-09-09

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:501

Fantomas Unleashed

In the second episode of the trilogy Fantômas kidnaps distinguished scientist professor Marchand with the aim to develop a super weapon that will enable him to menace the world. Fantômas is also planning to abduct a second scientist, professor Lefebvre.

Release Date:1965-12-08

Department:Directing

Job:Second Unit Director

Vote Count:526

Fantomas

Fantômas is a man of many disguises. He uses maquillage as a weapon. He can impersonate anyone using an array of masks and can create endless confusion by constantly changing his appearance.

Release Date:1964-11-04

Department:Directing

Job:Second Unit Director

Vote Count:741

OSS 117: Panic in Bangkok

A secret agent sets out to stop an evil scientist who is about to unleash on the world a virulent biological strain he has developed during experiments on rats.

Release Date:1964-06-12

Department:Directing

Job:Second Unit Director

Vote Count:50

First Taste of Love

Lucien, a modest engineering student, discovers that his steady girl friend Mireille is using him to cover up her dates with Mario, an older man. Lucien wanders about the streets of Paris and meets Joëlle, a sophisticated teenager who supports herself with a job in a sleazy nightclub. It is late when they meet, and Joëlle invites Lucien into the club and demonstrates her stripping act to her one-man audience. A feeling of rapport develops as they go from place to place seeking entertainment; in the morning the two discover they have fallen in love. Mireille learns of the romance and, on a bet, plots with Philippe and other friends to break up the affair. Neither Lucien nor Joëlle, however, succumbs to the propositions of Mireille and Philippe. Later at a nightclub, Mario gives the appearance of seducing Joëlle. Enraged, Lucien rushes at him and they fight. Lucien is reunited with Joëlle--he has learned of the complexities of love, and she has acquired from him a sense of stability.

Release Date:1961-01-27

Department:Crew

Job:Technical Advisor

Signed, Arsène Lupin

At the end of the Great War, Arsène Lupin resumed his adventurous life. Theft of three paintings committed by an adversary leads him to the treasure of the Golden Fleece.

Release Date:1959-11-11

Department:Directing

Job:Second Assistant Director

Vote Count:11

Rififi

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.

Release Date:1955-04-13

Character:Third Gambler (uncredited)

Vote Count:574

Série noire

Léo Fardier is a police inspector who goes to prison undercover as a convict. He shares a cell with Mariani, a Corsican mafioso, whose trust he earns. The day Léo leaves prison, the criminal entrusts him with a letter to deliver to his estranged wife. He finds her, and she falls under his spell. The problem is that he, too, has fallen in love with her.

Release Date:1955-03-04

Vote Count:1