Jean Servais

Jean Servais

Birth : 1910-09-24, Antwerp, Belgium

Death : 1976-02-17

History

Jean Servais was a Belgian actor best known for the French heist movie 'Rififi' and Luis Bunuel's 'Fever Mounts at El Pao'.

Profile

Jean Servais
Jean Servais

Movies

Doses of Horror
Baron von Rhoneberg ("A Dose of Succubus" segment) (archive footage) (uncredited)
"In an asylum, patients were subjected to watching horror films for psychiatric study... but they all went mad and now those films have been unearthed!" claims the product description. In reality, the "story" is told with silly title cards over random abandoned asylum shots while long scenes from eleven different 70s and 80s horror films are edited in.
The Protector
Recently released from prison, Samuel Malakian, a wealthy architect, investigates the disappearance of his daughter, Nathalie, kidnapped by thugs linked to the underworld. When he discovers that she is a prostitute, he will descend into the slums of the city and rub shoulders with these dangerous environments. For him, from now on, all means will be good in order to find the fruit of his entrails.
Threshold of the Void
De Gournais, le directeur de la galerie
The young artist Wanda Leibovitz comes to Paris, hoping to forget unfortunate love. Soon after arrival directly at the station Wanda meets the mysterious old woman suggesting to rent at it the room (whom the old woman, allegedly, held ready for the now deceased sister). Wanda doesn't know yet that this room will change all her life shortly after it slightly opens a mysterious forbidden door.
The Crazy Capo Affair
Joseph Marchesi, dit Crazy Capo
French gangster movie
The Devil's Nightmare
Baron von Rhoneberg
Seven tourists sent by Satan to a castle are caught by a ghastly woman as they commit deadly sins.
Der Mann aus London
Maloin
Better a Widow
Baron Misceni
Tom Proby is a representative from a British engineering firm sent to Sicily to convince the landowners (all in the Mafia) to allow his company to build an oil refinery on some waterfront real estate. Proby talks to the mob bosses about the project, but disagreements between different bosses complicate his efforts.
Coplan Saves His Skin
Saroghu
Free-lance undercover agent Coplan receives a phone call from an old girlfriend in Turkey. The panic-stricken woman gives sketchy details of a plot that threatens world security. When Coplan arrives, he is told the woman has been killed, and the trail of the murderer leads to her mad-scientist brother.
Black Jesus
Commander
A thinly-disguised biography of African leader Patrice Lumumba, here called Lalubi. Lalubi, a Christ-like leader determined to save his people, by passive resistance, from the dictatorial regime propped up by European colonialists, is imprisoned and tortured, along with a thief who comes to a greater understanding through his contact with Lalubi.
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
Gino
After successfully assaulting an armored car between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, the ambitions of the diverse members of the intrepid criminal gang collide, causing undesirable consequences.
La femme de 100 têtes
Récitant / Narrator (voice)
Surrealist short film of images viewed to a surrealist poem by Max Ernst.
Every Man Is My Enemy
To Skin a Spy
Weigelt
A French secret agent gets a license to kill when he is sent to Vienna to plug a security leak in this routine spy saga. He is caught in the crossfire of international enemy agents trying to eliminate the French.
Lost Command
Gen. Melies
After being freed from a Vietnamese war prison, French Lt. Col. Pierre Raspeguy is sent to help quell resistance forces in Algeria. With the help of the Capt. Esclavier, who has grown weary of war, and Capt. Boisfeuras, who lives for it, Raspeguy attempts to convert a rugged band of soldiers into a formidable fighting unit, with the promise of marrying a beautiful countess if he's made a general.
Thomas the Impostor
Pesquel-Duport
In the First World War, when Paris is expected to fall to the Germans, the attractive widow, Princesse de Bormes, organises a convoy of cars to evacuate the wounded from the front, and bring them back to her villa in Paris to recuperate. The authorities will not give them passes until an innocent 16-year-old boy, Guillaume Thomas de Fontenoy, joins them and is mistaken as the nephew of the popular General de Fontenoy. The Princess is enraptured by Thomas and her daughter, Henriette, falls in love with him. However Thomas feels impelled to see more of the action of the war.
Rififi in the City
Maurice Leprince
In an unnamed Central American state on the eve of a crucial election, a young police informer working for police officer Miguel Mora bent on uncovering the shady works of popular politician Maurice Leprince is killed. However, thugs working for Leprince began to be killed one by one as well.
That Man from Rio
Prof. Norbert Catalan
French military man Adrien Dufourquet gets an eight-day furlough to visit his fiancée, Agnès. But when he arrives in Paris, he learns that her late father's partner, museum curator Professor Catalan, has just been kidnapped by a group of Amazon tribesmen who have also stolen a priceless statue from the museum. Adrien and Agnès pursue the kidnappers to Brazil, where they learn that the statue is the key to a hidden Amazon treasure.
Agent of Doom
Piort
Chicken Soup
Commissaire Beronnet
The fiancée of a gangster who has been shot by the police takes an entire police station hostage, armed with a revolver and a bottle of nitroglycerine...
The Cage
Michel
An African physician returns home after studying medicine in Paris. He marries and settles down to life in the bucolic splendor of his native land. When he has a confrontation with a white plantation owner, the white man sees red and casts a spell on the African doctor. Although he realizes the curse is an ancient tribal superstition, he still is plagued by the ghost of his late first wife. The black doctor and the white man are assimilated into cultures in which neither of them were born in this vexing jungle tale.
The Longest Day
RAdm. Janjard
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
Crime Does Not Pay
Vaughan
Husband try to kill his wife with a help of the plan he saw in a film. But reality is not a film.
The Corsican Brothers
Gerolamo Sagona
The Dumas story about Siamese twins separated at birth but who have a strong psychic link.
The Game of Truth
Jean-François Vérate
A dozen elegant people are gathered in a writer's desirable mansion. In the grand tradition of Agatha Christie, they all have something to hide.They begin a cruel game of truth, a game where you're not supposed to tell lies. As the questions become more and more intimate and precise, the tempers rise, while outside the storm is raging. Enter a hateful person (played by Paul Meurisse, the nasty headmaster in "Les Diaboliques") who seems to know a lot about them. Someone is murdered. Whodunit?
House of Sin
Paul Dutraz
In this mystery, a nouveau-riche Frenchman returns to his Parisian home after finding a fortune in Africa. He is looking for a wife and begins advertising in the newspaper. Instead he finds himself victimized by con-artists.
On Friday at Eleven
Gypo
An enigmatic woman recruits a gang of specialised criminals to rob a US Army payroll armoured truck bound for Marseilles. However, things don't go exactly as planned.
Le Sahara brûle
Murder at 45 R.P.M.
Maurice Faugères
Danielle Darrieux stars in this French thriller as a singer having an affair with her accompanist. When her husband dies in an automobile accident, the two lovers suspect each other of having murdered him. Soon after, they receive 45 rpm records with the dead man’s voice, threatening to come back.
Fever Mounts at El Pao
Alejandro Gual
Aroused citizens assassinate an unpopular Caribbean despot, then two men vie for his gorgeous widow Ines. Ojeda is a steamy, isolated island, the penal colony for an oppressive dictatorship. A reactionary seizes the murdered governor's post, and rushes to eliminate his romantic rival, an idealistic underling. The bureaucrat Vazquez hopes to marshal the angry residents of the capitol, El Pao, plus the many political prisoners, to oust Governor Gual.
Les Jeux dangereux
Fournier
That night...
André Reverdy
Jean, who is the artistic director of a fashion magazine, is married to a very pretty cover girl, Sylvie. They both work for André Reverdy, a very cynical man, who openly covets Sylvie.
Tamango
Dr. Corot
A Dutch slave captain, on a voyage to Cuba, faces a revolt fomented by a newly captured African slave, Tamango. The slaves capture the captain's mistress, forcing a showdown.
When a Woman Meddles
Henri Godot
Quand la Femme S'en Mele (When the Woman Butts In) stars French film favorite Edwige Feuillere as a high-class gangster's moll named Maine. When Maine's first husband and daughter pay a visit, it's an awkward time for our heroine and her current amour, gang boss Godot (Jean Servais). In addition to fielding a lot of embarrassing questions, Godot also has to deal with a pesky turf war with a rival mobster. Not that the ex-husband is a paragon of virtue: he's busy trying to get even with a crooked business associate.
The Wheel
Pierre Pelletier
Pierre is an engine driver who adopts a small girl, a WWI orphan. A widower, he sees in her the image of her mother.
He Who Must Die
Priest Fotis
Greece, in the 1920s, is occupied by the Turks. The country is in turmoil with entire villages uprooted. The site of the movie is a Greek village that conducts a passion play each year. The leading citizens of the town, under the auspices of the Patriarch, choose those that will play the parts in the Passion. A stuttering shepherd is chosen to play Jesus. The town butcher (who wanted to be Jesus) is chosen as Judas. The town prostitute is chosen as Mary Magdalene. The rest of the disciples are also chosen. As the movie unfolds, the Passion Play becomes a reality. A group of villagers, uprooted by the war and impoverished, arrive at the village led by their priest. The wealthier citizens of the town want nothing with these people and manipulate a massacre. In the context of the 1920s, each of the characters plays out their biblical role in actuality.
La déroute
Narrator (voice)
How to make the most of a defeat. How to make money from Napoleon's fiasco at Waterloo.
The Lebanese Mission
Maj. Charles Hobson
The Knife to the Throat
Marc Hourtin
Pacos Le Maltais, leader of a gang, lays down the law on the quay of Marseille. He fires one of his henchmen, Le Chinois, who killed a woman during the last bank stickup.
Heroes and Sinners
François Séverin
A good cast smooths over the rough spots of Les Heros sont Fatigues. The scene is the African republic of Liberia, which in this film proves to be a stopping-off point for a number of shady characters. Yves Montand plays a French ex-pilot who becomes involved in a scheme to smuggle stolen diamonds. His cohorts include a Nazi collaborator, a German refugee, and the white mistress of a prominent Liberian. A romance develops between the ex-pilot and the aforementioned mistress. Meanwhile, one of the conspirators (Curt Jurgens) has a last-minute attack of conscience, effectively queering the deal. The steamier romantic passages in Les Heros sont Fatigues had to be trimmed for American consumption.
Rififi
Tony le Stéphanois
Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
The Knight of the Night
le châtelain
Tourbillon
Fred Maurin
Taking advantage of the shooting of a film, gangsters stage a hold -up. A black man, Selim, is unfairly accused.
Rue de l'Estrapade
Jacques Christian
While Henri Laurent speeds along on the racing circuits, his pretty wife Françoise goes from luxury boutique to luxury boutique with her best friend Denise. One day, Denise lets her know that Henri has a lover. Outraged, Françoise moves out of marital home and rents a maids' room in Rue de l'Estrapade. Henri tries to get his wife back but Françoise does not listen. She even looks for a job in a prêt-à-porter shop and lets herself be courted by Robert, her neighbor across the landing...
Mina de Vanghel
A romantic German girl is brought to France. After an interlude with an old roue, she falls in love with a simple, but married, man. She goes to work for him as a servant, but after a night of love with him, she commits suicide.
Les Crimes de l'amour
Le Plaisir
l'ami de Jean
Three stories about the pleasure. The first one is about a man hiding his age behind a mask to keep going to balls and fancying women - pleasure and youth. Then comes the long tale of Mme Tellier taking her girls (whores) to the country for attending her niece's communion - pleasure and purity. And lastly, Jean the painter falling in love with his model - pleasure and death.
The Glass Castle
Laurent Bartel
Evelyne, a judge's young wife, falls in love with Rémy while vacationing in Italy. Upon returning home, she must decide between telling her husband and continuing to see Rémy.
The Ferret
Stadler
A mysterious figure signing himself "The Ferret" keeps sending letters to the police, tipping them off about murders that are to be committed around Paris. Among those caught up in the police manhunt is a fraudulent clairvoyant.
Mademoiselle de la Ferté
Lord Osborne
Anne seeks revenge on Jacques who betrayed her trust. She decides to poison him and the people close to him.
Such a Pretty Little Beach
Fred
During the cold and rainy off-season a man arrives in a seaside town and, giving his name only as Pierre, checks into the only hotel which remains open. His arrival arouses curiosity and a degree of suspicion, as people note that he appears to know the area, yet gives no explanation for his presence at that bleak time of year in the dead-end town.
Paul Gauguin
Short documentary on Paul Gauguin by Alain Resnais
Lovers Without Love
Enrico Miller
This flashback heavy melodrama is a loose adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s novella The Kreutzer Sonata named after the Beethoven piece. The story concerns marriage, divorce, love, carnal lust and jealousy.
La Danse de mort
Kurt
A sinister fortress on an island where the sun never seems to shine. An officer whose values have long gone a thing of the past.
The Seventh Door
The bus driver
An old man about to die gives all his fortune to a young beggar he meets in an Arabian town. He takes him to his house (now the poor man's property) and he strongly advises him not to open one of the doors, the seventh door. "I could throw the key into the sea" says the young lad" No use, you'd dive to get it back". The young man is curious and he cannot resist temptation: he opens the forbidden door. A strange world is waiting for him where a girl, Leila, will be his guide .
Sunless Neighborhood
Jo
In a slum set to be demolished, dramas are played out among the picturesque slum dwellers, including a young couple who, denounced by the police, are forced to leave home.
Life of Pleasure
An aristocrat instigates divorce proceedings against his son-in-law, a commoner and the ex-owner of night club "La Vie de Plaisir".
Mahlia the Mestiza
Daughter of a French officer and an Annamite, Mahlia was brought up in Indochina by Mr. and Mrs. de Roussière. Their son, Henri, would like to marry her but they are against it. Mahlia flees and Henri is killed for trying to protect her. The young girl enters the Mission to raise children there in the love of France.
Finance noire
François Carré
In Central Europe, an organization of counterfeiters is headed by Burcq. An Air France pilot introduces an intelligence agent to the principality. A woman, Helene, betrays them first, then in love with Francois, the pilot, helps the two friends to escape.
Tornavara
Anders
In a lost village in Lapland, Gérard comes to the aid of his friend Anders, in conflict with his father, a rich owner of gold mines.
Patricia
Fabien
Mademoiselle Bressac is a bossy spinster who manages "Le Clos", her estate, with an iron hand. But is she really a bad person? Her manners are abrupt but they only hide a heart of gold. Doesn't she bring up four orphans, Dominique, Fabien, Chantal and Jean? And as if it were not enough, she has accepted to educate another child, her niece Patricia, entrusted to her care by her irresponsible father. Thanks to her, the five young people have grown up in harmony and now they are about to find their place in society. Two of them, Jean and Patricia, who love each other, live only for the estate.
Fromont Young and Risler Elder
An ambitious and perverse adventurer sows dissension and ruin in a wealthy family of industrialists.
Those of the Sky
Monval
An airplane manufacturer asks his son-in-law to try out the prototypes he builds. This one ends up having an accident because of fatigue, and pushes the sacrifice to help his rival.
L'étrange nuit de Noël
Taking advantage of their uncle's absence, André and Raymond Rafet organize a New Year's Eve party at his house. The uncle returns unexpectedly, disturbs the party, threatens his nephews to disinherit them and then locks himself in his office. A few minutes later, he is found dead, poisoned.
La vie est magnifique
Two campers meet two young girls in the Landes. Love will bloom, with its heartbreaks.
Terra di fuoco
Social Police
For years now, Chief inspector Gustave Picard has been trying to bring down Salviati, the dreadful leader of a drug-selling gang. Lucienne Préville, an informer who works for him, has infiltrated the gang but her position is dangerous. On the other hand, Scoppa, Salviati's former right-hand man, has started challenging his former boss. Will Salviati, the brutal public enemy, clear off at last?
Gigolette
Les réprouvés
Prieur
At the borders of the Saharan desert, the dramatic situation of a battalion of light infantry attacked by the enemy.
Daddy's Girl
After winning the lottery, an orphan who wants to find a husband asks a hotel porter to be her father.
Valse éternelle
Rose
Bourrasque
A young settler from Algeria is in love with the boss's niece. Of course, the father of the young man is formally opposed to the marriage. But helped by his mother and by the kingpin himself, the boy achieves his goals.
Angele
Albin
Angèle is a 1934 French drama film directed, produced and written by Marcel Pagnol. It stars Orane Demazis as a naive young woman who is seduced and abandoned. It is based on the novel Un de Baumugnes by Jean Giono.
Dernière heure
A young woman flees with her lover, after having killed her brutal husband; hoping to live a few hours of happiness, before his arrest...
Jeunesse
Pierre
After being saved from suicide due to an unhappy marriage, Marie hesitates between two other men, but lands up rejoining her husband in the colonies as she now expects a baby.
Amok
Jean
Dr. Holk leads an isolated and lonely existence in a small, Dutch colony in the tropics. Having fled from love and civilization, his only companions now are alcohol and his work, which takes him to villages ravaged by dirt, fever and a strange illness which turns innocent people into madmen: Amok. One day, he is called on by Helene Haviland, who asks him to abort her lover's child before her husband returns from abroad. Even though Holk is enchanted by her seductive beauty, he haughtily refuses her request. Rejected, the woman turns to a Chinese practitioner. When Holk tracks her down in a dirty dive, it's already too late for the two of them.
Les Misérables
Marius Pontmercy
The lives of numerous people over the course of 20 years in 19th century France, weaved together by the story of an ex-convict named Jean Valjean on the run from an obsessive police inspector, who pursues him for only a minor offense.
La voix sans visage
The singer Saltore is accused of the murder of his wife's lover, and is sentenced to ten years' hard labour. His daughter proves his innocence when she discovers the culprit to be his wife, who wanted to end an embarrassing love affair.
Criminal
Bob Graham
A wrongfully convicted man finds himself suspected of a crime committed in his prison.
Mater Dolorosa
One of the most popular melodrama films directed by Abel Gance. A paranoide, fanatical and obsessively jealous husband obducts his own son to bully his wife.