Up to His Ears

1965 French film
  • 4 December 1965 (1965-12-04) (France)
Running time
109 minutesCountriesFrance
ItalyLanguageFrenchBox office2,701,748 admissions (France)[1]

Up to His Ears (French: Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine or in English, "Tribulations of a Chinaman in China") is a 1965 French-Italian international co-production adventure comedy film starring Jean Paul Belmondo and Ursula Andress. It was an indirect sequel to That Man from Rio reuniting many of the same team; directed by Philippe de Broca written by Daniel Boulanger, stunt work by Gil Delamare it was loosely based on the 1879 novel Tribulations of a Chinaman in China by Jules Verne.

Plot

Millionaire Arthur Lempereur is bored with life. He tries to kill himself but fails, then decides to travel to Hong Kong to see if his depression can be cured.

In Hong Kong, Arthur discovers that his money is gone. Mister Goh, his old tutor and a Chinese philosopher, makes him take out a life insurance policy to benefit Alice, Arthur's fiancée, and Mister Goh. Goh promises to kill Arthur for him.

Arthur then meets Alexandrine, an ethnologist and striptease dancer. He decides not to die, and goes to track down Goh before Goh can hire a hitman.

Cast

  • Jean Paul Belmondo as Arthur Lempereur
  • Ursula Andress as Alexandrine Pinardel
  • Jean Rochefort as Leon
  • Maria Pacôme as Suzy Ponchabert
  • Valérie Lagrange as Alice Ponchabert
  • Valéry Inkijinoff as Mr. Goh
  • Joe Saïd as Charlie Fallinster
  • Mario David as Roquentin
  • Paul Préboist as Cornac
  • Jess Hahn as Cornelius Ponchabert
  • Darry Cowl as Biscoton

Production

In addition to its footage of China, the film contains several minutes of the Agra area in India, including the Taj Mahal, which appears much whiter than it does today. The film also includes approximately 15 minutes of footage of the central area of Kathmandu, Nepal, the nearby Swayambunath hillside temple and more rural mountain areas of Nepal, with the impressive Himalayas as the backdrop.

Filming started under the title Chinese Adventures in China on January 5, 1965 in Nepal.[2] Ursula Andress left for Hong Kong in February 1965.[3] Filming took place in Hong Kong and Paris.[4]

In January 1966, the title was changed to Up to His Ears.[5]

Reception

The film was the tenth-most popular of 1965 in France, after The Sucker, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Gendarme in New York, Mary Poppins, Fantomas Unleashed, God's Thunder, The Wise Guys and Viva Maria!.[6]

References

  1. ^ Box office information for film at Box Office Story
  2. ^ TRAIL OF TRIAL: Pioneers' Tragic Trek To Be Filmed -- Tanglewood to Tel Aviv -- Sequel By A.H. WEILER. New York Times 29 Nov 1964: X11.
  3. ^ Sammly Agrees to Play Iago Role: Lilia Skala, Ex-N.Y. City Center Employe, to Return as Singer Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times 8 Feb 1965: c20.
  4. ^ CALL SHEET: Marquand Signed for 'Phoenix' Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 24 Apr 1965: B7.
  5. ^ Mailer Novel to Be Filmed Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 18 Jan 1966: c13.
  6. ^ "Rechercher : Les Tribulations d un Chinois en Chine". BOX OFFICE STORY (in French). Retrieved 2021-12-27.

External links

  • Chinese Adventures in China at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  • Chinese Adventures in China at AllMovie
  • Up to His Ears at Le Film Guide
  • Up to His Ears at Letterbox DVD
  • Up to His Ears at Philippe de Broca
  • v
  • t
  • e
Films directed by Philippe de Broca
  • Les trois rendez-vous (1953)
  • Salon nautique (1954)
  • Sous un autre soleil (1954)
  • Opération gas-oil (1956)
  • The Love Game (1960)
  • The Joker (1960)
  • Five Day Lover (1961)
  • Cartouche (1962)
  • "La Gourmandise" in The Seven Deadly Sins (1962)
  • "Une Nuit avec une Vedette" in People in Luck (1963)
  • That Man from Rio (1964)
  • Male Companion (1964)
  • Up to His Ears (1965)
  • King of Hearts (1966)
  • "Mademoiselle Mimi" in The Oldest Profession (1967)
  • The Devil by the Tail (1969)
  • Give Her the Moon (1970)
  • Touch and Go (1971)
  • Dear Louise (1972)
  • Le Magnifique (1973)
  • Incorrigible (1975)
  • Julie Gluepot (1977)
  • Dear Inspector (1977)
  • Practice Makes Perfect (1979)
  • Jupiter's Thigh (1980)
  • Psy (1981)
  • The African (1983)
  • Louisiana (1984)
  • The Gypsy (1986)
  • Chouans! (1988)
  • 1001 Nights (1990)
  • The Keys to Paradise (1991)
  • Regarde-moi quand je te quitte (1993)
  • Tales from the Zoo (1994)
  • Les hommes et les femmes sont faits pour vivre heureux... mais pas ensemble (1995)
  • Le veilleur de nuit (1996)
  • On Guard (1997)
  • Amazon (2000)
  • Madame Sans-Gêne (2002)
  • Y aura pas école demain (2003)
  • Un amour en kit (2003)
  • Le menteur (2004)
  • Viper in the Fist (2004)