Jess Hahn

Jess Hahn

Birth : 1921-10-29, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

Death : 1998-06-29

History

Jess Hahn's career is a bit of an oddity, being one of very few American actors to establish himself in French cinema in the early 1960's. He acted exclusively in French productions for the duration of his career with the exception of the Marlon Brando vehicle "The Night of the Following Day" in 1968, which was filmed in France. He also appeared in several international coproductions and low budget films by French exploitation director Jean Marie Pallardy, for which he is arguably best-known to contemporary audiences.

Profile

Jess Hahn

Movies

Overdose
Le docteur
Karen, a beautiful air hostess, is implied by her fiance in international drug trafficking: drugged herself, she lets persuade to convey ten kilos of heroin from North Africa to Spain. Having narrowly escaped the police, she catches her boyfriend with another woman. Desperate and angry, she takes the drug to the sea and finds refuge with Patrick, a Spanish-American living in a castle. However, traffickers will make every effort to find her...
Vivre pour survivre
Sam
While working in a diamond mine located in the desert, Bo and Ingrid, two siblings who survived a massacre as children, make a surprising discovery.
Teheran '43
Second Terrorist
This story starts in 1980 in Paris as the memories of Andrei Borodin, a Soviet agent, take the action back to 1943 during the Teheran meetings of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. A high-ranking Nazi officer developed a plan to assassinate the three world leaders in order to undermine the Allied forces. He commissioned the German agent Max Richard to carry out his plan, but it failed miserably due to the quick action and thinking of Andrei. While in Teheran, Andrei met a French woman, Marie Louni, living in the city and they had a brief but intense affair. Nearly four decades later, the Nazi officer has been captured - but not for long. Freed by terrorists, the officer is hunting down the German agent who failed to carry out the planned assassinations. Max lives at Françoise, a young French woman, who hides him.
Treize
Bob
Mama Dracula
The Superintendent
A female vampire must bathe in the blood of virgins in order to stay alive. The trouble is that virgins are in short supply nowadays, and she is running into major problems in finding one.
Johnny West
Manager
Film by Koller.
The Man from Chicago
Jeff
In Turkey, the son of a rich manager is kidnapped. This boy finds a friend in one of the kidnapper when the adventures evolve.
Three Tough Guys
The Bartender
Isaac Hayes plays as Lee in his feature film debut, as Father Charlie and himself solve a bank robbery mystery that stretches across the city. After Lee is removed from the force due to $1,000,000 being stolen from the bank Father Charlie helps him to gain revenge for the loss of one of his friends.
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
Jeannot
There's trouble in Frankie Diomede's criminal empire in Genoa. A French gangster has moved into his territory, so he flies home to take care of business. He promptly has himself arrested so that he'll have the perfect alibi when the bodies start piling up. But it turns out his enemies have enough juice to keep him in prison, his associates start dying and the attempts on his life start. Cue Tony Breda, a wannabe wiseguy, who has a plan to spring Frankie from jail.
The Mysterious Island
Bonaventure Pencroft
1865, The American Civil War: Five POW manage to escape by balloon from Fort Richmond. Caught in a storm and with the balloon damaged they find themselves 'shipwrecked' on a volcanic desert island somewhere in the Pacific. Just before crash landing their leader, the brilliant engineer Cyrus Smith falls to his apparent death in the raging waters, but later turns up completely unharmed and with no memory of how he was saved. His fellow castaways are: the famous journalist Gedeon Spilett, the salty sailor Bonaventure Pencroff, the orphaned boy Harbert Brown and the black servant of Smith, Nab. The dog Top also joined them in the escape.
The Grand Duel
Bighorse the Stagecoach Driver
A grizzled ex-sheriff helps a man framed for murder to confront the powerful trio of brothers who want him dead.
The Sicilian Connection
Sacha
A small time hood smuggles drugs from Turkey to Italy in an effort to make it into the big time, but along the way everyone has to have their cut.
Sexy Sinners
Prior (uncredited)
During the early Italian Renaissance and the Black Death epidemic, a group of young men and women, seeking refuge in a secluded villa just outside the city of Florence, shares different stories of adultery and forbidden love.
Bad Man's River
Tom Odie
Robber Roy King loses his wife, Alicia, to revolutionary Montero. Despite their rivalry they collaborate in an attempt to rob the Mexican government of one million dollars.
Rum Runners
Piet aka "Big Dutch"
During the prohibition era, Cornelius, a bootlegger, is on the run from the American coastguards. He comes across a silent film actress, Linda, on the set of a movie and falls in love with her.
Supergirl
Polonsky
In this comedy, Iris Berben plays a mysterious, supernaturally beautiful girl from another planet, who confuses and flusters the men on earth, where she has landed. The men follow her wherever she goes. Marquard Bohm is no exception here - he leaves his wife in a lurch and travels with the Supergirl to Spain. The girl doesn't tell much about herself; she reports, though, about an impending threat from outer space.
Die Sonne angreifen
Hippolit
Troubleshooters
Kongo, La brute américaine
The day he is released from jail, Serge is expected by four killers sent by Count Charles Varèse assigned to make him confess where he has hidden the jewels stolen during his last stickup. On the other hand the police inspector who arrested him offers him protection on condition he gives him the same piece of information. Serge refuses and is about to be tortured by Varèse's henchmen when Michel, a friendly hood, comes to his rescue. His friendship will result in... a heap of corpses! —Guy Bellinger
Atlantic Wall
un colonel britannique
1944. Léon Duchemin owns a restaurant with his sister. His clients are Germans, Résistance et black marketeers. Léon unwillingly joins the Résistance when a British pilot is shot down and hides in his attic and, through a series of mishaps, he accidentally steals the plans for Hitler's V1 missiles.
The Novices
L'Américain
A nun and a spirited prostitute convert an ambulance into a bordello on wheels.
The Comeuppance
Bob
Philippe, Théo and Bob share the same cell in the prison of La Santé. Philippe, a young student, known as "Sciences-Po", is planning revenge against those who sent him to prison. He offers his two fellow prisoners, seasoned mobsters, to help him recover an important document from a diamond dealer in Le Havre. This paper would rehabilitate his father, his two comrades being able to keep the diamonds contained in the safe... But the coup does not go as planned.
L'amour des 4 colonels
Wesley
The Night of the Following Day
Friendly
A gang of four professional criminals kidnaps a wealthy teenage girl from an airport in Paris in a meticulous plan to extort money from the girl's wealthy father. Holding her prisoner in an isolated beach house, the gang's scheme runs perfectly until their personal demons surface and lead to a series of betrayals.
Fuller Report, Base Stockholm
Eddy Bennet
Dick Worth (Ken Clark) is an American racing driver in Stockholm to put on an exhibition that his boss Bennet (Jess Hahn) hopes will result in orders for cars, and instead gets drawn into CIA business when he is mistaken for a spy and takes on the job of recovering the Fuller Report, CIA information about an assassination plot.
The Woman Is a Stranger
Floyd Delaney
The psychotic son of a film producer becomes obsessed with a beautiful blonde starlet while in Cannes, lures her to his hotel room and strangles her. His mother finds out, but can she keep her mouth shut to protect her son? Meanwhile, the young killer meets another pretty blonde...
Rita the Field Marshal
Major Bill Hocks
A waitress helps a scientist flee the Nazis.
Million Dollar Man
Henry
A U.S. Treasury Department agent is sent to Morocco to find a fortune in counterfeit money hidden by the Nazis during World War II. The agent escapes from prison with the only man who knows the location of the bogus bills. The duo is shadowed by a group of former Nazi soldiers who hope they will lead them to recover the lost loot. The feature plays as a crime drama with overtones of international espionage.
Your Turn to Die
Boris
When Gordon Smash tries to get away with the loot from a successful diamond heist, his fellow conspirators shoot him in the back. Smash manages to get a clue to newspaper reporter Robert Foster, who sets of to retrieve the diamonds. Despite becoming a target for the rest of the gang, Foster prefers to rely on fashion model Arabella and news paper photographer 'Flash' instead of the more seasoned Inspector Chandler.
Triple Cross
Commander Braid
A safecracker turns double agent during WWII.
Le Saint prend l'affût
Hoppy Uniatz
Oscar Chartier plays a dangerous double game by selling secret plans to the German and American secret services, to ensure a comfortable future for his daughter, Sophie. But the plans are fake and Chartier decides to get help from his good friend Simon Templar.
The Saint Lies in Wait
Hoppy Uniatz
Oscar Chartier plays a dangerous double game by selling secret plans to the German and American secret services, to ensure a comfortable future for his daughter, Sophie. But the plans are fake and Chartier decides to get help from his good friend Simon Templar.
The Postman Goes to War
Jess Parker
The unsuspecting Parisian postman Thibon accepts a transfer as army mailman in Indochina. In the hospital, after his mail van is blown up by a mine, he falls in love with his Indochinese nurse Vang.
Secret Agent Super Dragon
Baby Face
A series of murders in Michigan lead an American secret agent to Amsterdam, where he uncovers a plot to imperil the world with a potent new drug.
The Mona Lisa Has Been Stolen
Fêtard, le milliardaire noctambule
A thief (George Chakiris) falls in love with a maid (Marina Vlady) and goes on the run after stealing Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa."
Up to His Ears
Cornelius
A millionaire realizes he really wants to live after he has hired an assassin to kill him.
The Wise Guys
Nénesse
Hector Valentin returns to France from Canada when he inherits a small sawmill. He has difficulties restarting the run-down operation which has inefficient workers and is hampered by the dirty tactics of its bigger...
What's New Pussycat?
Peter Werner
A playboy who refuses to give up his hedonistic lifestyle to settle down and marry his true love seeks help from a demented psychoanalyst who is having romantic problems of his own.
Les Gorilles
Boris Alexis Alexevich, the make-up artist
A confused pair of airport luggage carriers get involved in the disappearance of some suitcases.
The Great Spy Chase
Commodore O'Brien
A cold-war spy parody. After the death of an armaments manufacturer, an international group of spies is drawn into a high-stakes battle of wits to obtain the valuable military patents which have been inherited by the lovely widow.
Topkapi
Hans
Arthur Simon Simpson is a small-time crook biding his time in Greece. One of his potential victims turns out to be a gentleman thief planning to steal the emerald-encrusted dagger of the Mehmed II from Istanbul's Topkapi Museum.
A Blonde Like That
Sam
Le Procès
Assistant Inspector #2
Josef K wakes up in the morning and finds the police in his room. They tell him that he is on trial but nobody tells him what he is accused of. In order to find out about the reason for this accusation and to protest his innocence, he tries to look behind the façade of the judicial system. But since this remains fruitless, there seems to be no chance for him to escape from this Kafkaesque nightmare.
Mandrin met le feu aux poudres
Bertrand, 'le braco'
The Sign of Leo
Pierre Wesselrin
An American in Paris lives by sponging off his working friends, and throws a party using borrowed money when his rich American aunt dies, believing firmly in his horoscope.
Cartouche
La Douceur
In the 18th century, Louis de Bourguignon is working with the Malichot's gang, but their ways are too 'unethical' for him. He creates his own band, acting under the name of Cartouche, making audacious robberies of the rich people, and even distributing the takings with the poor. Thus, cartouche attracts the people's sympathies, Venus's love, and hate from the Police and Malichot... Cartouche can escape all the traps they set at him - except the entrapments of love. Eventually, he will be saved by a woman, at her own cost.
Dynamite Jack
Sergeant Bob
Antoine Espérandieu, a French tenderfoot, lands in Windows Canyon, Arizona, a remote place under the thumb of dangerous outlaw Dynamite Jack, only to discover the friend he was to meet there has been murdered. Worse, it is not long before Antoine realizes he is Jack's perfect lookalike. All the same, he decides to settle down in the small town, where he becomes the local tax collector. One day, he finds himself face to face with the bandit...
Gorilla's Waltz
Ted the Hook
This is the third feature in a series about an intrepid French spy by the nickname of "The Gorilla," but unlike the earlier films, this time around Roger Hanin replaces Lino Ventura in the title role. A West German scientist has discovered a way to recover missiles shot into space, and the major Western powers are after his secret. Even though the scientist is willing to pass his discovery on to NATO, it is guarded by an elite, undercover West German police force. As foreign agents, including the Russians and Americans, try to get their hands on the secret, "The Gorilla" is forced into the affair by his surly, aging boss -- he has to make sure that the scientist's discovery ends up with NATO.
Y'en a marre
Dave, le copain de Larry
The Tiger Attacks
Donan
Paul Lamiani, a wizened mobster, is asked to return to duty following the disappearance of secret documents of extreme importance. It is assumed that they are in the hands of a friend of Paul. But the case becomes even more delicate when Lamiani's son is kidnapped.
Time Bomb
Le marin blessé
Plotters decide to scuttle a ship for the insurance money, but things go wrong.
Le Sicilien
Raffles
Le Désert de Pigalle
Bill
A young priest works as a barman in a Pigalle cafe in Paris. He tries to prevent the women there to prostitute themselves....
Honey, Scare Me
Chris Craft, the American spy
A crime story writer comes to the French Alps for vacation. However, an envelope given by a strange man, would put him in a conflict between two teams of spies. A young blonde hotel burglar will help him get out of this mess.
The Tricyclist
Daniel
Antoine Peyralout is baker Mouillefarine's tricycle delivery man. Comical and stuttering, Antoine shows more interest in the local soccer team than in professional integrity. A wedding cake pays the price for it and the young man is dismissed. Not dispirited in the least, Antoine decides to go to Nice, where his favorite team will play the final of the Cup. On his merry (and eventful) way, he has the opportunity to save a pretty camper, Popeline, with whom he falls in love. Once in Nice, he discovers that Dabek, the brilliant goal-keeper is not up to his task following bad news...
Nathalie
Sam
Haute Couture mannequin in Paris becomes involved in the activities of two rival jewel thief gangs.
When a Woman Meddles
'La Couture'
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 Happy Road
MP Sgt. Morgan
Two children run away from a Swiss boarding school and set out for Paris, with their frantic parents in hot pursuit.
Le coin tranquille
Edward Butterfield dit 'Eddy'
The Vintage
André Morel (uncredited)
A young Italian fugitive and his older protective brother hide among the grape pickers at a vineyard in Provence.
To Catch a Spy
Kalpannen
The blueprints of an aeroplane built from an ultra-secret metal are stolen from national security. French secret service agent Walder believes that the documents are now in Switzerland, in the hands of a man named Lindbaum. The latter agrees to hand over the blueprints in return for a large sum of money. Another agent, Francis Coplan, is sent to Switzerland to handle the deal, but Lindbaum only has half of the documents because he was double-crossed by Kalpannen, an international crook. With the help of Heidi, a Swiss correspondent, Coplan sets out to identify the members of Kalpannen’s gang, only to find that they have all been murdered…
Le colonel est de la revue
Jess
The Flea in the Ear
Rugby
The Lebanese Mission
Le valet
Fernand cow-boy
Jim Mariane
Rencontre à Paris
Henry
The Best Part
Karl
Philippe Perrin, a young engineer passionate about his work, leads the construction of a huge dam in the High Alps. Like all the men who work on the building site, he gives the best part of himself. Unfortunately, his health deteriorates but he refuses to follow the doctor's orders as well as the advice of Micheline, a young nurse who has fallen in love with him. However, driven by the evolution of his illness, Philippe finally makes up his mind to go down to the valley for a treatment. On the very day of his departure though, a young Arab worker gets killed in a rock crusher...
Girl on the Third Floor
L'Américain (uncredited)
A Parisian reporter tries to exonerate a fugitive neighbor of charges he murdered his wife.
Give 'em Hell
American sailor in 'Paradise' (uncredited)
During the 1950s, in Portuguese Mozambique, small-time American hustler, ex-soldier, ex-boxer and adventurer Johnny Jordan is looking for a new gig. His opportunity comes in the form of a local shipping tycoon and importer Moreno who offers Johnny a job after Johnny saves Moreno from an armed mugger on the waterfront.
Les corsaires du bois de Boulogne
le capitaine du bar
Poison Ivy
Le marin-geôlier
FBI Agent Lemmy Caution is sent after a missing two million in Casablanca while mob boss mistress Carlotta plays both sides of the law.
Deux de l'escadrille
During the Second World War, midshipman Dourdan, nicknamed 'Saucisse', distinguished himself by his clumsiness and his blunders. Charged with Lieutenant Goldfinch to convey an aircraft to Marrakech, he shot down an American bomber on the way, mistaken for a German plane.