Le clan des Siciliens (1969)

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Auguste Le Breton (novel)
Henri Verneuil (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

1 December 1969 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The murders in Paris! The robbery in Rome! The double-cross in New York!

Plot Keywords:

Police | Jewel Robber | France | Shore | Falling Out Among Thieves

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jean Gabin	...	Vittorio Manalese
Alain Delon	...	Roger Sartet
Lino Ventura	...	L'inspecteur Le Goff
Irina Demick	...	Jeanne Manalese
Amedeo Nazzari	...	Tony Nicosia
Philippe Baronnet	...	Luigi
Karen Blanguernon	...	Theresa
Yves Brainville	...	Le juge
Gérard Buhr	...	Un inspecteur
Elisa Cegani	...	Maria Manalese
Raoul Delfosse	...	Léoni
Jacques Duby	...	Raymond Robel
Yves Lefebvre	...	Aldo Manalese
Edward Meeks	...	Le commandant de bord
Sally Nesbitt	...	Mrs. Evans

Also Known As:

The Sicilian Clan (USA)
A szicíliaiak klánja (Hungary) [hu]
Der Clan der Sizilianer (West Germany) [de]
El clan de los sicilianos (Spain) [es]
I symmoria ton Sikelon (Greece) [el]
Il clan dei siciliani (Italy) [it]
Klan Sycylijczyków (Poland) [pl]
Klanen fra Sicilien (Denmark) [da]
Os Sicilianos (Brazil) (TV title) [pt]
Sicilianska klanen (Sweden) [sv]
Sicilyalilar çetesi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Sisilialaisklaani (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

120 min | Germany:115 min | Spain:119 min | USA:118 min

Country:

France

Language:

Italian | French | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:15 | West Germany:16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:GP

Filming Locations:

Franstudio, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France

Company:

Les Films du Siècle

Trivia:

The film was shot in three languages (French, English and Italian) with the same cast.

Quotes:

Vittorio Manalese: Well, personally, I trust the engineer. He sounds okay to me. This is a professional job.
[Turns and looks at Roget Sarte]
Vittorio Manalese: You're the one I don't trust!
Roget: Me?
Vittorio: Yeah, you! All your brains are below your belt! You almost got us all in cold storage last night playing games in a whorehouse!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Astérix aux jeux olympiques (2008)

A Near Classic, Top Notch Crime Drama

Summary: A Near Classic, Top Notch Crime Drama

It might sound cliché, but I'm just going to use it and say it: "They just don't like that anymore". The Sicilian Clan truly deserves it and every second of the film is tightly acted and directed. We also have an absolutely magnificent soundtrack here courtesy of the Italian master composer Ennio Morricone which perfectly matches the mood and look of the film. Alain Delon, in one of his best performances, plays a master thief who gets hired by Jean Gabin for the occasion of pulling off a 50 million dollar jewel robbery. The jewelry is being shipped to a museum in New York by a passenger airplane and The Sicilian Clan want them all. The best way: hijack the plane! There is also a very good subplot involving Delon and the wife of the one of the Clan boys that runs along the way which is ultimately responsible for the film's very very satisfying finale. Beautifully shot in Panavision, the imagery is also great with lots of on location photography of the late 60's Paris. Sadly, this movie is not currently available on home video. It was theatrically released in North America by the 20th Century Fox and it grossed over $1 million dollars at the time which quite respectable. I don't know who currently has the rights to it but hopefully Anchor Bay will license and release it now that they have released another great one "Un Flic". Until then, I'm glad that at least I have a pan & scan copy I made from the cable.