Classe Tous Risques

Based on a novel by death-row-inmate-turned-writer José Giovanni, this masterpiece of 1960’s French gangster cinema is director Sautet’s debut and stars character actor Lino Ventura in a tour de force performance as a bad man trying to do right by his children.

Packing suspense, action, bleak realism and psychological drama all in one, Classe Tous Risques is a gripping study of loyalty and betrayal amongst thieves, as well as the consequences of failure.

Ventura portrays Abel Davos (based on real-life criminal Abel Danos whom writer Giovanni met during his time in prison), a man on the run from the law and from a death sentence. When real-life gangster Danos was sentenced to death by guillotine due to his associations with the collaborationist Bonny-Lafont gang during the German occupation in France, it inspired fellow prison inmate/novelist Giovanni to immortalize the doomed criminal and baptize him Abel Davos in his novel (also called Classe Tous Risques).

The beginning of the film sees Ventura’s Davos on the run from the law, having spent years as a fugitive in Italy and with his loyal wife and two young sons in tow. Longing to return to France, Davos and partner in crime Raymond Naldi (Stan Krol) embark on a smash-and-grab robbery to get the necessary cash. This scene was shot in the busy streets of Milan in broad daylight, while passers-by, unaware that the robbery is part of a movie, reacted in real-time!
The heist is followed by an extended action-packed chase sequence, during which Davos and Naldi come out trumps. Not for long though… once Davos & family plus Naldi arrive in France via a hi-jacked boat, the border police awaits them… and after an exchange of bullets it’s only Davos and his two boys which escape. His wife and Naldi, as well as two cops, find a sticky end on the shore.

Once again being a fugitive – this time in Nice - and with two motherless boys to look after, the wanted man realizes he will be recognized everywhere as long as his sons are with him. Initially instructing the iboys to walk ten metres behind him on the open streets, he eventually finds them shelter with the help of former gang members whom he contacts for help. While the boys are sorted, the troubles for Davos are far from being over. His cronies in Paris, apparently willing to help him at first, make their excuses one after another as Davos is deemed too risqué to handle.

Enter the neutral Erik Stark (Jean Paul Belmondo), a stranger sent by the gang to help bring Davos to Paris. Stark’s plan is to smuggle the fugitive in a stolen ambulance across border patrols - a plan that proves to be successful thanks to the help of aspiring actress Liliane (Sandro Milo), whom Stark offers a lift after witnessing a quarrel between the sassy girl and another male on the roadside.
When the three arrive in Paris, a relationship between Stark and the actress blossoms. For Davos, however, things go from bad to worse as he comes to realize that help and loyalty amongst fellow gangland outlaws are in short supply…

The Dual Format Edition presents the film newly restored and in high definition. The bonus material offers the Original French and US trailers, the docu “Monsieur Ventura” about the life and career of Lino Ventura, and an illustrated info booklet.