The read
It runs a compact 1h 30m.
Synopsis
Smuggler's Ball is the English-language title for this French-Belgian seriocomedy. The action takes place along the borders separating Belgium, Holland and France. It is here that the worldly Pierre (J. P. Kieran) carries on a profitable smuggling operation, all the while romancing Siska (Christian Lenier), the daughter of a local customs official. Various subplots and secondary characters weave in and out as the plotline guides the viewer through the WW II years. Towards the end, the story shifts gears when the Benelux Frontier Agreement eliminates all government regulations. The film's screenplay is by Charles Spaak, himself the descendant of a Belgian political family, and thus well-versed in bureaucracy and red tape.
Ratings
5 audience votes
Key crew
- Henri StorckDirector
- Charles SpaakWriter
Cast
- Françoise RosayGabrielle Demeuse
- Jean-Pierre KérienPierre
- Christiane LénierSiska van Moll
- Daniel IvernelJef - le délégué syndical
- Yves DeniaudLe brigadier Achille Van Moll
- Eva Ingeborg ScholzElsa Menzler
- Karl JohnHans
- Käthe HaackMoeder van Elsa
- Kurt GroßkurthDikke Charles
- André ValmyLe douanier Louis
- Arthur DevèreGus
- Raymond PellegrinMichel Demeuse