Jean-Patrick Manchette

Movies

Let the Corpses Tan
Novel
With a heavy haul of 250 kilograms of gold bullion, the grizzled criminal mastermind, Rhino, and his ruthless gang of cutthroats, head to a ramshackle retreat somewhere in the Mediterranean to lay low on a scorching day of July. However, the unexpected and rather unwelcome arrival of the bohemian writer, Bernier, his muse, Luce, along with a pair of no-joke gendarmes further complicates things, as the frail allegiances will soon be put to the test.
The Gunman
Novel
Eight years after fleeing the Congo following his assassination of that country's minister of mining, former assassin Jim Terrier is back, suffering from PTSD and digging wells to atone for his violent past. After an attempt is made on his life, Terrier flies to London to find out who wants him dead -- and why. Terrier's search leads him to a reunion with Annie, a woman he once loved, who is now married to an oily businessman with dealings in Africa.
Polar
Novel
This film noir tends to stay within very conventional plot lines, as the narration by the main protagonist, private detective Eugene Tarpon Jean-François Balmer, recites a dreary litany of how he wanted to chuck his profession until an attractive woman shows up asking him to investigate the murder of her roommate, a porno star. Soon Tarpon is up to his neck in trouble: the police, gangsters, and the victim's lover are all out to get him.
Legitimate Violence
Screenplay
In the course of a violent hold-up at Deauville station, several innocent bystanders are shot dead. The victims include a politician, Robert Andréani, and three members of the same family. Devastated by the death of his wife, daughter and mother, Martin Modot resolves that their killers will be brought to justice. When the police fail to make any progress in their investigation, he decides to take matters into his own hands, with the support of a neo-fascist vigilante organization.
Le Choc
Novel
Martin Terrier wants to quit his job as a hired hitman, but his organized crime employers are unwilling to see him turned out to pasture, Terrier knows too much, and he is still useful to the organization. He escapes to the countryside where he meets Claire, and the two soon fall in love. Back in Paris to confront his employers, Terrier learns that they've stolen all his money from the bank. They give him an ultimatum—do one last job for them and he gets his money and his freedom...
The Masters of Time
Dialogue
On planet Perdide, an attack of giant hornets leaves Piel – a young boy – alone in a wrecked car with his dying father. A mayday message reaches their friend Jaffar, an adventurer travelling through space. On board Jaffar’s shuttle are the renegade Prince Matton, his fiancée, and Silbad who knows the planet Perdide well. Thus begins an incredible race across space to save Piel.
For a Cop's Hide
Novel
Victim of manipulation, Cop Choucas is wanted for two murders and searched for by every cop in town.
Three Men to Destroy
Novel
A man helps the victim of an auto accident, not realizing that the man has actually been shot. The men who shot him are now after the man who helped him, in order to eliminate him as a potential witness. Soon they are killing everyone he even comes in contact with in order to get him.
Mad Enough to Kill
Novel
A girl from an asylum is engaged as nurse to a small, spoiled orphan boy, whose uncle has evil designs on him, and who hopes to kill him and cast the blame on the girl.
Act of Aggression
Writer
After his wife and daughter are raped and killed by a motorbike gang a man sets out to take revenge.
The Nada Gang
Screenplay
Nada, named after a gang of Spanish anarchists, is a small, confused band of French terrorists. They kidnap the American ambassador after one of his regular visits to an exclusive brothel. The gang starts to quarrel amongst themselves as to the diplomat's fate, while the police purge suspects in their attempts to destroy the Nada faction. As the violence escalates on both sides, the States and the terrorists are forced to use one another's methods in an increasingly desperate and relentless conflict.
The Nada Gang
Novel
Nada, named after a gang of Spanish anarchists, is a small, confused band of French terrorists. They kidnap the American ambassador after one of his regular visits to an exclusive brothel. The gang starts to quarrel amongst themselves as to the diplomat's fate, while the police purge suspects in their attempts to destroy the Nada faction. As the violence escalates on both sides, the States and the terrorists are forced to use one another's methods in an increasingly desperate and relentless conflict.
Bartleby
A servile employee
French short adaptation of Herman Melville's classic. The employee of a lawyer is in a mental hospital following a scandal. Some time later, he finds his employer.
Le Socrate
Dialogue
A modern-day Socrates leaves behind his life as a philosopher to live off the land. When a police inspector is assigned to follow the man and question his motives, the cop gets caught up in the charming philosophy of the man who has left his material possessions behind. He encounters a pretty young woman and her nihilistic boyfriend, the latter who makes a living with his psychedelic side shows. The boyfriend gets the newspapers to print the philosopher's thoughts, prompting him to acquire a bevy of believers. There is some nudity in this comical thought-provoking story, but the main focus remains the words of the man who left behind creature comforts to find himself.
La peur et l'amour
Adaptation
"Love + fear = Torment" exposes the secret world of the French model studios, and the men who try to corrupt them. Mobsters become involved when fifty-thousand dollars worth of uncut gems are stolen. A model studio becomes terrorized as one of the models innocently befriends one of the mobsters.