Smuggler's Ball

Smuggler's Ball

90 mins | Drama, Comedy | June 8, 1952

Smuggler's Ball is the English-language title for this French-Belgian seriocomedy. The action takes place along the borders separating Belgium, Holland and France. It is here that the worldly Pierre (J. P. Kieran) carries on a profitable smuggling operation, all the while romancing Siska (Christian Lenier), the daughter of a local customs official. Various subplots and secondary characters weave in and out as the plotline guides the viewer through the WW II years. Towards the end, the story shifts gears when the Benelux Frontier Agreement eliminates all government regulations. The film's screenplay is by Charles Spaak, himself the descendant of a Belgian political family, and thus well-versed in bureaucracy and red tape.

Smuggler's Ball

90 mins | Drama, Comedy | June 8, 1952

Smuggler's Ball
Smuggler's Ball is the English-language title for this French-Belgian seriocomedy. The action takes place along the borders separating Belgium, Holland and France. It is here that the worldly Pierre (J. P. Kieran) carries on a profitable smuggling operation, all the while romancing Siska (Christian Lenier), the daughter of a local customs official. Various subplots and secondary characters weave in and out as the plotline guides the viewer through the WW II years. Towards the end, the story shifts gears when the Benelux Frontier Agreement eliminates all government regulations. The film's screenplay is by Charles Spaak, himself the descendant of a Belgian political family, and thus well-versed in bureaucracy and red tape.
Producers EFilm, Tevefilm
Original title Le Banquet des Fraudeurs
Directors Henri Storck
Writers Charles Spaak

Cast

Françoise Rosay

as Gabrielle Demeuse

Christiane Lénier

as Siska van Moll

Daniel Ivernel

as Jef - le délégué syndical

Yves Deniaud

as Le brigadier Achille Van Moll

Eva Ingeborg Scholz

as Elsa Menzler

Karl John

as Hans

Käthe Haack

as Moeder van Elsa

Kurt Großkurth

as Dikke Charles

André Valmy

as Le douanier Louis

Raymond Pellegrin

as Michel Demeuse

Maryse Paillet

as Kobi

Charles Mahieu

as Luitenant van de rijkswacht

Robert Lussac

as Smokkelaar