Arsène Lupin (TV series)

Arsène Lupin is a French TV show (1971 - 1974) which was co-produced with French, German, Canadian, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss, Italian and Austrian TV stations. It is loosely based on the novels by Maurice Leblanc featuring master thief Arsène Lupin who was featured in 17 novels and 39 short stories.[2]

Arsène Lupin
Also known asArsenio Lupin (Italy)
GenreCrime
Created byJacques Nahum
StarringGeorges Descrières
Yvon Bouchard
Roger Carel
Marthe Keller
Theme music composerJean-Pierre Bourtayre[1]
Country of originFrance
West Germany
Belgium
Italy
Switzerland
Austria
Netherlands
Canada
Original languagesFrench
Russian
No. of series2
No. of episodes26
Production
ProducerJacques Nahum
Running time55
Original release
NetworkORTF
ReleaseMarch 18, 1971 (1971-03-18) –
February 16, 1974 (1974-02-16)

Development

edit

Georges Descrières' portrayal of Arsène Lupin showed more similarity to Graf Yoster than to Maurice Leblanc's original depiction of his character. He behaved in the first place as a perfect gentleman who never got angry. Besides rescuing damsels in distress Lupin took on (other) criminals, competing with their wit and intelligence. Either he stole paintings from rich people who had to be considered white-collar criminals or he acted as a detective who derailed criminal schemes. Among the guest stars were German actors such as Günter Strack and Sky du Mont.

Jean-Paul Salomé said in his commentary on the DVD version of his film, film Arsène Lupin (2004), that he had liked this TV series as a child.

German TV, one of the investors, would broadcast the show eventually between 18:00-20:00 o'clock because it was only allowed to show commercials within that timeslot. For them to get a financial return on investment the show had to be appropriate for families and also for children who would watch it alone. Subsequently, it was nearby to ask to defuse and flatten some of Leblanc's plots in order to avoid possible complaints that could force the station to broadcast the show beyond the "Vorabendprogramm".

Cast

edit

Theme songs

edit

The series 1 and series 2 ending themes, "L'Arsène" and "Gentleman Cambrioleur", were performed by Jacques Dutronc, with music by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and lyrics by Jacques Lanzmann.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Opening titles". Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  2. ^ "Netflix's 'Lupin' Is a Riff on Maurice Leblanc's Classic 'Gentleman Burglar'". Marie Claire. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
edit